Dawn Prayer for All
Right before dawn, in the blue light of it,
I look for the horses but they aren’t there.
Only the winter trees, thick along the creek.
Everything is still, not even birds move. Only
a pain in my chest under my right breast.
Pulling muscle, something engorged, I’m afraid
of its motion, the turn I awaken to daily.
The horses must be beyond the creek, feeding
in the frozen meadow. I’ll not wait for them.
My knowledge is only human, only my eyes see
what is to be seen, and beyond that is more
yet it is not within my ken. I can’t see death
yet know its presence well, even its posture
prior to it. Pain is not death, I allow that.
For that I am grateful to my mind, the memory
ancient, not lonely or unreasonable. Pray then
for the blue light of morning that draws me
toward the day. Pray then for the horses,
for the presence of all things, for the pain.
Copyright Credit: Simon Ortiz, "Dawn Prayer for All" from After and Before the Lightning. Copyright © by Simon Ortiz. Reprinted by permission of University of Arizona Press.
Source: After and Before the Lightning (University of Arizona Press)