Indian in Another Place © 2006 Randy Woodley

 

i find myself locked inside this concrete maze

to fulfill some

ill-conceived expectation

chained to the conversations of ten thousand

people saying nothing

together in bizarre concert

my heart screams in silence

escape…find the earth and let her hold you

before peace is illusive

and honor can not be claimed.

****

the hostile city lights reflect against store

front mirrors preaching the

obscene echoes of obtrusive billboards

my eyes squint as they wound my soul and

i stand dizzy and bleeding

running faster and further from the hostile pace

set as a trap for me

still longing for the sacred places i know.

****

Great Spirit make my feet run swiftly

open my eyes to the peace in clear blue skies,

my ears to the bird songs of joy

and laughing water

allow me once again to breathe in the

pleasures of sweetgrass

and fresh wet earth

and put me in a place where one word spoken

from the heart is heard for a lifetime.