The Voice
“first there is a word
the word is the song”
1
song gives birth to
the song and dance
as the dance steps
the story speaks
2
the icy mountain water
that pierces the deep thirst
drums my fire
drums my medicine pouch
3
deep within my blood
a feather in the sky
foam on clear water
Tayko-mol!
4
free as the bear
and tall as redwoods
throb my blood roots
when spirits ride high
5
a valley ripe with acorns
and yellow poppies everywhere
as i stand here
dreaming of you
6
jolting my dream
an old man struggling
with an eel his coat appears
disheveled and empty
7
in a sacred manner
i sang and waited
a lick of your blood
i must take, reverently, deer
8
for you, blue corn baby,
my thoughts
on a melody of love
sail the sky
9
around fire on my head
a rattlesnake hisses and slithers
then flies up out of sight
fighting in sleep i cry out
10
the snake in my spine is tensing
for combat
thoughts become forced and tight
the air is a sharp knife
11
from under me today
the earth was pulled
balancing on a sharp mountain ridge
i search for a plain
12
Tayko-mol has not left us
but lives in the pulse
of our words, and waits
in the azure for us all
Copyright Credit: William Oandasan, “The Voice” from Round Valley Songs. Copyright © 1984 by William Oandasan. Reprinted by permission of West End Press.
Source: Round Valley Songs (West End Press, 1984)