Clumsy Oaf
in her people’s wisdom,
The author said,
"No Native language has
a cognate for “human” as
separate from other beings."
The NPR interviewer sighed and
became excited by the unity
of all things and the serenity
implied in this foreign paradigm.
I’ve read enough philosophy and
literature to know we "the civilized"
West speak about the conflict of
man versus nature, so I wonder
how that plays out in the Native
American spirit?
Unity? What is that? Kum by yah?
To honor the soul of the animal
you killed for food, be in love
with the three sisters, be kindred
with the trees, find fellowship
with the twisted rocks and clear
waters who are your home.
How smooth and easy
in contrast to the white man’s
distinct ability to become a
dissonant trumpet, out of tune,
crippled, always able to find
a way to sour the tune.
Every time.
Like all the noise we make as we
carry “diversity” like a spear
because we need our wars and
search for a reason to kill that guy
who isn’t us, to think stewardship
of the Earth's ethereal beauty
requires bulldozers and flames.
It is who we are.
We see beauty, but cannot walk in it
with our unentangled, quantum souls;
yes, we can take its picture, even
paint it to hang on our sterile walls,
but only if the colors match the couch.
Copyright
Vol Lindsey
02/12/2022
Copyright © Vol Lindsey | Year Posted 2022
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