Can our culture live on,
can its message be contained

Will an eagle looking down
see the joy or the pain

Will our heritage run deep,
like the river that flows

To an all-consuming delta,
and the life force who knows

(Pine Ridge South Dakota: June, 1993)

Poetry…
my breath,
my life

Feelings
inhaled,
thoughts to delight

(Dreamsleep: September, 2020)

We cannot eat lies
or feast on empty promises

No more than the bison,
starving in the desert sand

We cannot clothe our children
as we run from the Wasichus

Our teepees torn and freezing
amidst the winter snows

(Pine Ridge South Dakota: Late September, 1994)

I don’t want to be the one who shies away
and loves you less

I don’t want to be the one asleep
while you’re awake

I don’t want to be the keeper of secrets
you cannot share

I don’t want to be the one you miss
—until I’m gone

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2020)

Divorce not an option,
vows to remain

The altar enmired,
betrothal reclaimed

Children all lettered,
their offspring to spin

My nuptials enduring
—faithful within

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2020)

The wingless eagle
went to the party of the owls
with his own wisdom
Intimidating the impostors
of the night
with his past glory
Exposing the shadows
of their dark indulgence
—with a killers eye

(Stone Harbor New Jersey: January, 1992)

What you first come to learn
when emotions are raw

Bakes time eternal,
old men to recall

Before holy baptism
and the mirrored decree

Lasting impressions
—of what’s meant to be

(Villanova Pennsylvania: August, 2020)