I've been staring at a blank page
Behind each word, there's joy and ache
Stirred in a cyclone
"You are strong, you are brave," whisperings on my ear.

for Thomas Raine Crowe

...These nights bring dreams of Cherokee shamans
whose names are bright verbs and impacted dark nouns,
whose memories are indictments of my pallid flesh...
and I hear, as from a great distance,
the cries tortured from their guileless lips, proclaiming
the nature of my mutation.

NOTE: My “mutation” is that my family appears to contain English, Scottish, German and Cherokee blood, meaning that my ancestors were probably at war with each other. Did my English ancestors force my Cherokee ancestors to walk the Trail of Tears?

I have recently created these new translations of Native American poems, proverbs and sayings ...

What is life?
The flash of a firefly.
The breath of a winter buffalo.
The shadow scooting across the grass that vanishes with sunset.
—Blackfoot saying, translation by Michael R. Burch

Speak less thunder, wield more lightning. — Apache proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

The more we wonder, the more we understand. — Arapaho proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

Adults talk, children whine. — Blackfoot proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

Don’t be afraid to cry: it will lessen your sorrow. — Hopi proverb

One foot in the boat, one foot in the canoe, and you end up in the river. — Tuscarora proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

Our enemy's weakness increases our strength. — Cherokee proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

We will be remembered tomorrow by the tracks we leave today. — Dakota proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

No sound's as eloquent as a rattlesnake's tail. — Navajo saying, translation by Michael R. Burch

The heart is our first teacher. — Cheyenne proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

Dreams beget success. — Maricopa proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

Knowledge interprets the past, wisdom foresees the future. — Lumbee proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

The troublemaker's way is thorny. — Umpqua proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch

Once pure green, now red with desire
If this flame will spread with passion
Let it be, the warmth that you desire
Our feelings might be carnal treason
But our flesh surely will melt in the fire
The tongue is mischievous with hot reason
As it explores, digs, fight, and admire
You're a masterpiece worthy of sensual arson
I am yours and you are mine, I'll always admire

Thoughts racing, thinking of escaping
Am I trapped? Have I been confined to live in this place of regret?
This is all my fault, placed here through my actions, never to feel again the grace of satisfaction
Death appears to be the only light, it feels like there’s no reasons left to fight

A hostage to my own mentality, an everlasting insanity
There is no breaking free the chains of subconscious slavery

Consumed by the thoughts in my head, nothing makes sense but the voices want me dead
Constricted by the walls of my mind, telling me to leave this all behind.
Oh how I crave such a shallow grave; bring me to my final resting place

Death holds a constant grip on me

My head forever held in shame, forget my face, forget my name
Disintegrate all feelings once felt, pandemonium is where i’m left to dwelt
Beating hearts never felt so cold, living within this hell all alone
Ceasing to exist is all I’ve ever known
Calloused, broken, bruised and bleeding
My inner compass has lost its true north, always contemplating back and forth
Standing on the fringes of existence, pushed from the edge of my subsistence

A hostage to my own mentality, an everlasting insanity
There is no breaking free the chains of subconscious slavery

Unworthy to call this body a home; this prison of mere flesh and bone
I have become darkness incarnate, a true form of the blackest abyss
Deliver me from dissolution, no absolution from my own retribution

This mortal vessel has run it’s course, completely depleting my vital life force
Nothing can save me from myself, my own worst enemy, my soul forgotten like an unread book on the shelf

A hostage to my own mentality, an everlasting insanity
There is no breaking free the chains of subconscious slavery

With every notion of devotion I beg and plead to thee, please release me from this grim reality

The Christmas tree is vacant of what
make it jolly, bauballs  hang in remanence
                      with tarnished broken gleam.
Disused needles litter the floor,
  careful where you tread take care.  

The cat hangs loosely paper thin flesh
             gaunt from the crimson tinsel
throttled around its physique...

The Turkey on the table a corpse of
                            happier times..

Now a prison of destitute flesh
   like paper unwrote upon..
              But it says everything.

Presents litter the floor wrapped in
regrets.. all open, only the bones of
                   lost promises lay at the bottom.

Christmas time is only 364 days away,
   And this will all be here,

so will we,
                                 no one has found us yet..

In secret place where once I stood
Close by the Banks of Lacrim flood,
I heard two sisters reason on
Things that are past and things to come.
One Flesh was call'd, who had her eye
On worldly wealth and vanity;
The other Spirit, who did rear
Her thoughts unto a higher sphere.

"Sister," quoth Flesh, "what liv'st thou on
Nothing but Meditation?
Doth Contemplation feed thee so
Regardlessly to let earth go?
Can Speculation satisfy
Notion without Reality?
Dost dream of things beyond the Moon
And dost thou hope to dwell there soon?
Hast treasures there laid up in store
That all in th' world thou count'st but poor?
Art fancy-sick or turn'd a Sot
To catch at shadows which are not?
Come, come. I'll show unto thy sense,
Industry hath its recompence.
What canst desire, but thou maist see
True substance in variety?
Dost honour like? Acquire the same,
As some to their immortal fame;
And trophies to thy name *****
Which wearing time shall ne'er deject.
For riches dost thou long full sore?
Behold enough of precious store.
Earth hath more silver, pearls, and gold
Than eyes can see or hands can hold.
Affects thou pleasure? Take thy fill.
Earth hath enough of what you will.
Then let not go what thou maist find
For things unknown only in mind."

Spirit.
“Be still, thou unregenerate part,
Disturb no more my settled heart,
For I have vow'd (and so will do)
Thee as a foe still to pursue,
And combat with thee will and must
Until I see thee laid in th' dust.
Sister we are, yea twins we be,
Yet deadly feud 'twixt thee and me,
For from one father are we not.
Thou by old Adam wast begot,
But my arise is from above,
Whence my dear father I do love.
Thou speak'st me fair but hat'st me sore.
Thy flatt'ring shews I'll trust no more.
How oft thy slave hast thou me made
When I believ'd what thou hast said
And never had more cause of woe
Than when I did what thou bad'st do.
I'll stop mine ears at these thy charms
And count them for my deadly harms.
Thy sinful pleasures I do hate,
Thy riches are to me no bait.
Thine honours do, nor will I love,
For my ambition lies above.
My greatest honour it shall be
When I am victor over thee,
And Triumph shall, with laurel head,
When thou my Captive shalt be led.
How I do live, thou need'st not scoff,
For I have meat thou know'st not of.
The hidden Manna I do eat;
The word of life, it is my meat.
My thoughts do yield me more content
Than can thy hours in pleasure spent.
Nor are they shadows which I catch,
Nor fancies vain at which I ******
But reach at things that are so high,
Beyond thy dull Capacity.
Eternal substance I do see
With which inriched I would be.
Mine eye doth pierce the heav'ns and see
What is Invisible to thee.
My garments are not silk nor gold,
Nor such like trash which Earth doth hold,
But Royal Robes I shall have on,
More glorious than the glist'ring Sun.
My Crown not Diamonds, Pearls, and gold,
But such as Angels' heads infold.
The City where I hope to dwell,
There's none on Earth can parallel.
The stately Walls both high and trong
Are made of precious Jasper stone,
The Gates of Pearl, both rich and clear,
And Angels are for Porters there.
The Streets thereof transparent gold
Such as no Eye did e're behold.
A Crystal River there doth run
Which doth proceed from the Lamb's Throne.
Of Life, there are the waters sure
Which shall remain forever pure.
Nor Sun nor Moon they have no need
For glory doth from God proceed.
No Candle there, nor yet Torch light,
For there shall be no darksome night.
From sickness and infirmity
Forevermore they shall be free.
Nor withering age shall e're come there,
But beauty shall be bright and clear.
This City pure is not for thee,
For things unclean there shall not be.
If I of Heav'n may have my fill,
Take thou the world, and all that will.”


ስጋና መንፈስ

ከለታት አንድቀን ከኝኝ ብላ ወንዝ
በድብቅ ከቆምኩበት ሰዋራ ስፍራ
ስለአለፉና ስለሚመጡ ነገሮች
ሲወያዩ አደመጥኩ
ሁለት እሕትማማቾች፡፡

ስጋ ለበሽ ትባላለች  አንዷ ፣
ግብዝ ሆና ምድራዊ ነገር ላይ
ዓይኗን መትከል ነበር ልምዷ!

ሌላዋ ደግሞ ነፍስ ነው የምትባለው፣
የትኩረቷ ክበባዊ ማረፊያ የተቀነበበው
ምጡቅ ሆኖ ሰማይ ስላለው፡፡

(መጠሪያዋ ስጋ የሆነው)

እሕቴ እኔ የምለው
ቀለብሽ ምንድን ነው?
መመሰጥ፣ በመመሰጥ
ዝምብሎ መስመጥ?

አስረስቶ ሁሉን ነገር
አስከዓለም ዳርቻ
እንዴት ቀለብ ይሆንሻል
ሃሳብ ብቻ?

ግምታዊ ምልከታ
እንዴት ነው የሚፈቅደው
ሐሳባዊ ዕይታ
ተጨባጭ ሁኔታውን
እንዲረታ?

ታልሚለሽ ስለሁሉ
ከጨረቃ ባሻገር
ቦታ ለመያዝ
እዚያ መንደር?

እዚያ ብዙ ሃብት አለ
አንቺን የሚጠብቅ
ምድራዊ ሃብትን
አጠልሽቶ የሚያስንቅ?

ምናባዊ ምልከታሽ ትንሽ
አልተሳከረም አልተምታታም
እነኛን ጥላዎችን የሌላቸው
አካላዊ ድንበር
ለመያዝ ሲፍጨረጨር?››

ስሚኝማ ስሚኝማ
እኔማ  ቀልብ እንደትገዢ አደርጋለሁ
‹‹ጥረት ይገዛል ግርማ
ደምቆ በውጤት ሸማ!››

ምን ልትሺ ትችያለሽ
ከልዩነት መሐል
የአይንሽ ብረት
ከሚያየው
ተጨባጭ ግዝፈት?

ክብር ትወጂያለሽ
ለመሆን ገናና
ልክ  ለማግኘት እንደጣሩት
ሞትን ተሻጋሪ ዝና?

ትፈልጊያለሽ ዋንጫ ማንሳት
ስምሽን ለማስተጠራት
እርጅና የማይገድባት?

በጣም ትቋምጪያለሸ
ሀብት በደንብ ለማግኘት
የሱን ክምር ማየት?
መሬት አላት ገና
መዳብ፣እንቁና ወርቅ
ዓይን የሚሰርቅ
ክጅ እቅፍ የሚተርፍ፡፡

ደስታ ተፅኖ አይፈጥርብሽም?
ልምከርሽ አትንገልጀጅ
የምትፈልጊውን ድርሻሽን ውሰጅ
ሑሉ ተትረፍርፎ
ከመሬት ደጅ፡፡

የምትመኚውን ስታገኚው
እባክሽ እንዳትለቂው
አስበልጠሸ ነገሮች ወና
እነኛን  የምታስሺያቸውን
በምናብሽ ዳና፡፡

(መንፈስ )

ግን አንቺ አሁንም ሳትፀፀቺ
ሆነሽ በስሜትሽ የምትነጂ
ልቤን አትጉጂ!

ታውቂያለሽ ምያለሁ
(በርግጥ አደርገዋለሁ)
አንቺን አንደጠላት
አሳዶ ለማጥቃት!

በርግጠኝነትእንደቤትሥራ
የግድ እንደሚሠራ
እፋለምሻለሁ
እስካይ ተንኮታኩተሽ
ከአቧራ ተደባልቀሽ!

እሕቴ እርግጥ ነው
መንታነታችን
ግና ታውጇል
ፍልሚያ በመሓከላችን
ምከኒያቱም አባታችን
አንድ አይደለም?
አንቺ የአዳም
አምሳያ አይደለሽ
የተገኘሽ ከሱ  ስጋ ና ደም፤
የኔ ግን ስሪት ከሰማይ ነው
ተወዳጅ አባቴን እንዳፈቅረው፡፡

አስመሳይ ነሽ
የምትይው
አይሆንም በጭራሽ
አንቺ መልቲና
ሸርዳጅ ጉዳተት አድራሽ!

ገና በደል ታደርሸብናለሽ
ስለዚህ ያንቺን ከቱ ሙገሳ
ነኝ ወዲያው የምረሳ
በዚህ ምክኒት
ምንም፣ ላምንሽ አልችልም !

ስንቴ ያንቺ ባሪያ
መናጆ ልሁን
ስፈጽም
አንቺ የምትይውን?
ከአሁን ወዲያ
ጆሮዬ ለምክርሽ
መስሚያው ጥጥ
ነው የሚሆንብሽ፡፡

በአንቺ እኩይ ደስታ
በጣም ነው የምናደድ
እንዲሕ አይነት ሃብት
አይችልም አኔን ሊያጠምድ!

አንቺ አንደጀብዱ
የምታነሺውን ተግባር
አልችልም እኔ ላፈቅር
ጭራሽ ስለሚስገድደኝ
ቅንድቤን አንድቋጥር!
ምከኒያቱም የኔ እይታ
ከፍ ካለ ቦታ
አንዲሁም የኔ ስኬት ደስታ
አንቺን ስረታ
በመለጠቅ
የድልአድራጊነት ካባ ሳጠልቅ፤
በካቴና ተጠፍረሽ
ሳይሽ‹‹ ምሪ ቀጥይ ተብለሽ!››

የእኔ የኑሮ ሁኔታ
ምንጭ  ሊሆን  አይገባም
ያንቺ ሐሜታዊ ደስታ፡፡
ስለኔ ስጋ ቀለቤ
በጭራሽ ሊኖርሽ
አይችልም ህሳቤ!

የኔ ስውር መኖ
የኔ ምግበ ስጋ
የህይወት ቃል ነውና
አንቺ ምድራዊ ደስታን
ከመሻት፣ ከምታጠፊው ሰአት
የኔ ምልከታ
ያጎናፅፈኛል እርካታ፡፡

ጥላ አይደለም የማባርረው
በብልጭልጭ ነገር
አይደለም የምደመመው
ሁሌ አርካብ የምረግጠው
ከፍ ወዳለው ለመውጣት ነው፤
ግና ለክፋቱ ይሄ ነገር
ይዘለላል ከአንቺ
አንኮላ  ጭንቅላት ድንበር!

ለሰማዊ አሴቶች
ነፍሴ ተመንጥቃ ሥታበቃ
እኔማ፣
እቀየራለሁ ልክ
በምስኖ አንደለማ፡፡


አይኖቼ
ሰንጥቀው አፍላጦኑን
ያያሉ ስውር የሆነውን
ካባዬ የተሰራው
ከወርቅ ወይ
ሐር አይደለም
ወይ ከተመሳሳይ
መሬትላይ ከሚታይ
የኔ ካባ ልዩ ሆኖ ይልቃል
ከምታንጸባርቀው ፀሃይ ፀዳል፡፡


የኔ ፀዳል
ዘውዴም ከቶፓዘ እንቁ ከወርቅ
ይበልጣል መላኮች ራሰ ላይ
ክብ ሰርቶ ከሚታይ!

ያከተማ
ልኖርበት የማስበው ነው
መሬት ላይ አቻ የለው
ግድግዳው ረዥምና ጠንካራ ነው
በሩን የሚጠብቁት
መላዕክት ናቸው
መንገዱ የተሰራው
አይን አይቶት ከማያውቅ
ብርሃን ከሚያሳልፍ ወርቅ፡፡

ከዙፋኑ ስር ተነስቶ
የወትት ወንዝ ይፈሳል
ቀልብ ገዝቶ!

ለህይወት የሚሆነው ውሃ
ኩልል እንዳለ ይዘልቃል!
ለፀሃይ ለጨረቃ
ማንም ደንታ የለውም
የግዚአብሔር ግርማ
ለሁሉም ስለሚበቃ
ሻማ መለኮስ
መብራት ማብራት
የለም
ስለማይኖር ለጨለማ ስጋት፡፡

ከህማም አንዲሁመ ድካም
ነፃ ይሆናለ ሁሉም
ማርጅት የሚባለ  ነገር
አይታስብመ ከቶ
ውበት ስለሚታይ
ገዝፎ፣ደምቆና አብርቶ!

ያፀአዳ ከተማ ለአንቺ አይደለም
እኩይ ነገር እዚያ የለም፡፡

የኔ ድረሻ ከሆን ከሰማይ
መሬትና በቅፉ ያሉት
ይሁኑ ያንቺ ሲሳይ፡፡

(በአን ብራንደስትሪት/ ትርጉም  በዓለም ኃይሉ ገ/ክርሰቶስ)

Hungering
Dripping sweat
My soul thirsts
For more and more
Of the One that
Gives and gives
Yet my flesh fights
It's a tug o war
Dripping sweat
Hungering
-soulwriterj

It’s hard, being in love with you
Being constantly reminded
You’ll never want me

It’s hard
That I see you
As the most perfect human being
That I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

It’s hard that I want to kiss you
Every time you open up your mouth to speak.
I want to make love to you
Give you all the pleasures my flesh can give.

It’s hard especially
Being in love with you
Knowing
You’ll never want me .