By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 13 March 2000
Hanbleceya (Vision Quest)
it has been winter here for a long time
i have suffered in silence and eaten my kill alone
hidden in the shadows
without a name
i have tried to make it come to me
i have screamed
ENOUGH
TIME
HAS
PASSED
i have left
the safety
of the
village
everyone was mute and unable
to give me directions
and the ghosts
whispered
too softly
the animals were not sympathetic
they had their fur
their family
their prey
they had no time to pretend they could talk
if they could
they would say
Find Your Own Way, Lost Girl
Make Your Own Magic
i made the trek
up the mountain
i looked for what
i needed
in the high shrill trees
that mated with the wind
i asked the sun for a clue
she directed me to the moon
the moon was sleeping and the
stars were drunk on dreams
my begging was not enough
my bleeding was not enough
my breaking was not enough
my braving was not enough
He appeared too late
after too much
had been
lost
and he did not
offer me
shelter or food
or a security
blanket
but the words he shared were true
and they have made
the trip down the mountain
easier, somehow
Back to the Heart-on-Sleeve Corner