Appalachian Elegy (3 page)

intent to destroy

let a blessing come here

let earth

heal and rejoice

she has here

mother of grace

and constancy

wild roses bloom

scatter these hills

with beauty

that does not linger

offering still the promise of healing

and return

 

mud sliding down

wet can do this

make danger

fall upon us

turn the pure in heart away

no water for holy cleansing

no water for drying thirst

just black death

smothering earth

soot after fire

 

wingspan wide

death covers all

prey and predator

turkey buzzards overhead

at the bottom of the hill

no eternity beckons

just ongoing decay

a deep smothering emptiness

profound prolonged lamentation

birds cry high

 

hard rain

softens harder ground

from solid rock

to mud so thick

feet go under

making every step

dirge and trial

even as joy surfaces

at last today

we plant

we hope

 

pink and white oleander

not native to Appalachian ground

still here lies

years and years of poison

rebel flags

heritage and hate

in the war to fight hunger and

ongoing loss

there are no sides

there is only

the angry mind of hurt

bringing death too soon

destroying all our dreams

of union

 

go high up

climb to the very top

look out

remnants of

majesty remain

here where soldiers stand

watching their gods die

what will be given

in return for shelter

an end to hunger

sanctuary

look from the mountaintops

an army of broken promises

land invaded then left

as though there were no other way

to claim belonging

 

straight ahead

the road curves

signs signal

no motorboats allowed

this lake our water source

let us drink

clear and true

there are swans

resting here magical presence

all reflecting peace

 

when trees die

all small hearts break

little living creatures

happy and safe

uprooted

now in need of finding

new places

when home

cracks and breaks and falls

all life becomes danger

how to find

another place

where all is not

yet barren

 

all fields

of tobacco

growing here

gone now

man has made time

take them

surrendered

this harsh crop

to other lands

countries where

the spirit guides

go the way

of lush green

leaving behind

the scent of memory

tobacco leaves

green yellow brown

plant of sacred power

shining beauty

return to Appalachia

make your face known

 

the glory in old barns

surpassing time

wood gray shadowed black

faded colors

places where painted signs

tell of products

no longer in use

standing or falling down

these structures

carry the weight of history

work done and undone

memories of toil and torment

there was bounty here

tears for sowing

lamentations for the dead

all fragments that remain

remind us

give thanks

gather praise

 

turtle islands everywhere

heads poking out

bodies embraced in the world

before the coming of the white man

a sea of calm

where turtles rest

on lands breathing life

outside water

that turtles may play

fat succulent slow

enchanting us

with strength to guard and protect

a wall of hardness

store dreams

of a world without humans

a wet world everlasting

 

sometimes falling rain

carries memories of betrayal

there in the woods

where she was not meant to be

too young she believes

in her right to be free

in her body

free from harm

believing nature

a wilderness she can enter

be solaced

believing the power

that there be sacred place

that there can be atonement now

she returns with no fear

facing the past

ready to risk

knowing these woods now

hold beauty and danger

 

bring Buddha

to rest home

in Kentucky hills

that outside each window

a light may shine

not a guilt teaching tradition

be balanced

know loving kindness

end suffering

rejoice in the oneness of life

then let go

carry nothing on your back

travel empty

as you climb steep mountain paths

 

clouds dressed in gray

for mourning

for grief held

white for adoration

dark for sorrow

come soon

an eternity simply hidden

where all sun and glory reigns

even so

in this now

there is just

a promise

of shadows

relentless

 

soil rich with lime

grass beyond green

turning toward blue

hills of plenty

all but gone

bent under the weight

all human greed

we speak then

tell of a god of miracles

who moves mountains

yet manmade steel

ravishes this earth

all for coal

deep and black

a destiny of burning heat

covering flesh in ash

 

equine whispering

horses once roaming freely

out in the open

now live enclosed

captured by boundaries of fence and wire

manmade domestication

horses grazing quietly

fo ur-legged buddhas

standing in grace

forgiving

 

sublime shadows of midnight

bronze brown

in gray white

dappled black beauty

thunder

man of war

a dynasty of flesh

roaming in the mind's eye

pondering

such power harnessed

driven

preyed upon by human

will and desire

 

morning dawn

mist-covered day

dreaming triumph and victory

horses gather

a herd at the top of the hill

bonded

whispering souls

ready to run

speaking a language only they can hear

sounds beyond

interpretation

no heavy rider's move

in this magic time

no need to tame and mount

all at once

they race

to reach the beyond

 

softly treading black bear

leaving a trace

green crushed

under innocence

just for now

breaking free

leaving forest for

hill and mountain

fleeing coonskin caps

memories of

renegade red men running

fleeing daniel boone

white wrath

all nature

slaughtered in

the colonizing wake

animals abandoned

alone untouched

sheer good fortune

guides one bear away

a gift of time

with no boundaries

for soon

hunters come

soon comes dying

soon we are captives

 

burning pain

has its own rhythm

back and back

shaking the foundation of

trees once strong

brought down

by fire

by fierce want

uprooted

all solid

familiar ground

naked now

going once

going twice

leaving damaged

and broken

unending

blackness

 

returning to sacred places

where all is one

embraced belonging

an intense field of possibility

wondrous goodness

fills the air

grant us great spirits

another chance

to reclaim and nurture earth

glorious sky

divine water

in everyday the blessing of weather

offering change

a constant passing

of life into death

and back again

 

walking the long way home

walking ever so slow

talking to be

wholly in this world of wonder

standing still

waiting

standing in the center

of a long and winding

dirt road

leading uphill

to a small house

surrounded by lilacs

black-eyed susans

roses and honeysuckle vines

a bench at the bottom

that bodies may rest

before they climb

 

tap dancing

on tin roofs

heavy rain falls

wetness spreading

all over borders

refusing containment

flash flood warning

sirens call stay in

be still

guard your heart

let rain be

the only necessary movement

 

fierce winter cold

mind whispers

a lost landscape

telling stories

of how it was then

seated near fire

drinking homemade spirits

sake and brandy wine

spirits bring contentment

for a time

carry us closer

to the sacred

moving through bitterness

our yearning to hold on

to moments of ecstasy

where we imagine

we hear clearly

destiny calling

 

winds of fate

take the air

push it past the known

in this world of nature

no one can undo

mystery abounds

harsh cold burns skin

fire waits

raging tempests

sweep us

carry us toward

destiny recorded

written down

past present future

change comes

 

mammoth caves

places alive

before the invention of hours

paleolithic hunters

painting the caves

of lascaux

horses shot with arrows

wild creatures

no longer seen

cave dwellers

searching for sacred paths

then sharing revelation

on these walls

connecting caves

crossing boundaries

of nation and time

bold remains

of untouched history

 

stained black

Kentucky oak

plank fences

mark boundaries

ghost riders

where the dead live

on the edge of time

slaves worked here

long ago

caressing horse flesh

breathing shared dreams

cared for them

when witnessing

the breaking of yet

another animal spirit

born to be wild and free

a bond forged

whisper to forgotten souls

run run

go as fast as you can

run run

seek an end to bondage

 

toward light

each bird flies

higher then higher

then swooping down

as though to plummet

as though air a net

to catch and comfort

who can fear

earth

who can fear

sky

when faced with

an infinite possibility

each moment given

a chance to soar

to enter beyond

 

ritual places

a set offering

dead bird

on wooden slats

carry beauty still

stretched and moaned

as though

bearing its own cross

suffering those last moments

there are altars

in these hills

organic monuments

calling the sacred

rock on which to stand

and know divine presence

witness and testify

as birds of prey

fly high

opening wide wings

reaching past death

 

on hallowed ground

I cast the circle

that there may be

haven for the lost

refuge and sanctuary

turning to the hills

I place feet on steady ground

letting earth hold me

in praise of air

I lift my hands

to the heavens

call down grace for blessings

for anointed being

turning toward water

I let go remembered sins

cleanse and purify

burning sage

I bring fire to warm

and illuminate

all around this body

light moves

a communion of gathered

spirits

 

fierce unyielding winds

pressing pushing

against window glass