[The Red Path copyright 1991 by Keith Powell, Grand Coulee, Washington]
for Poets United's Thursday Think Tank prompt: the color Red
Note: In this one, I seem to have tapped into my deep connection with First Nations people,
among whom I was privileged to work and serve for eight and a half years in Tofino,
and whose culture resonated within me so strongly I know I must have lived that life before.
Great Spirit,
may all Two-Leggeds
learn to walk the Red Road,
as do those of us
who have always lived
close to the land,
whose choices
are made with respect
unto the seventh generation,
who take only what we need
and preserve the rest,
so that others may also eat.
Great Spirit,
blow the winds of change
across the land,
sweep clean our hearts,
and let us approach the table
humbly,
not to take
but to partake,
to share
in our common brotherhood
and sisterhood,
so we may see
we are all
much more the same
than we are "different".
Bless the Old Ones
whose eyes have seen
a hundred years
of betrayal, injustice
and wrong-doing.
Lead them gently
into their last night.
May their eyelids close
with peace and love
surrounding them,
and may they open again
on vistas like the days of old,
buffalo roaming richly
across the grassy steppes,
spotted ponies galloping
across the land,
wigwams dotted along
rushing rivers
where fish are plentiful.
May they be young braves
and maidens again,
vibrant and joyous.
The Red Road
is the path
of nurturing life,
of sustaining
and restoring the earth.
May all Two-Leggeds
recognize that what befalls
the tiniest link
in the chain of life
befalls us all.
The Red Road
has power and mystery
and connection:
we feel it when smoke
from the sagebrush
rises slowly to the teepee's roof
and circles there,
prayers rising on the Old Ones' breath.
When it is my good day to die,
may I follow that Red Road
to its destination,
and open my eyes
on a land of plenty,
where brown-eyed children laugh,
no one is ever hungry
and there isn't even a word
for war or discord.
May I open my eyes
on the world I so wanted
to live in here.
