Her sunflower bloomed
In sunset sky of twilight.
Her aura shone bright,
Painted with vibrant shades of
Violet and lavender.
For K.K.T.
(July 2004 to May 2022)
---
This tanka poem is about the death of one of my cousins. She died from fentanyl at 17. After her death, we had a shaman visit and do a naming ceremony. He channeled her spirit name as "Yellow Flower," or in my Moose Cree dialect: Osaawa Waapikwaan.
He also channeled that her spirit's colors (which I assume is the aura) are dark purple, light purple, yellow, tan brown. Coincidentally these are the colors of fentanyl-death awareness ribbon, suicide awareness ribbon, and also the non-binary gender flag colors.
But my cousin did not seem to know about all other gender identities, and seemed to not identify as non-binary if she did know. She liked men's clothes and always wore a beanie hat, so I assume this is a clue she was non-binary gender. In our Cree culture, non-binary gender falls under the umbrella term "two-spirited" gender.
BLUE MONDAY
B ereft of life bequeathed wIth loss for ware
L ove cAme, then vanished, like it wasn't THERE
U nder a Mask i Hide wherE no smile IS
E ach day Reliving past Events long STILL
M y inNer strength, it sEems, has lost all HOPE
O Verall i'm at the End...of my Rope
N othing's Left for mE, but: 'do i or DON'T'
D id hamleT still have anything to GIVE
A gainst the torment lanGuished...he gave UP
Y outh now is gOne and without love...so i !
1.12.2017©deborah burch
Form: acrostic (with several messages
acrostically placed within)
Theme: suicide awareness, hope
*note: bold not working so puzzle letters/words
are in CAPITALS !!
*to fellow poet readers, please note this is for
awareness only...I am fine;)
Here we are
Staunch and strong
With a message that will grasp you
Mind, heart and soul
Listen to what we say
No means will go astray
"Suicide Awareness"
Is what we're here for today
Our people are dying
Taking their lives and more
Seeking peace, serenity
Freedom from pain, most of all
The pain that grips them
Ripping their soul
With no one to stop it
Or make them feel whole
But little do they know
There's always someone at tow
Waiting patiently for when
It's time for them to show
To open up and say
That they're not OK
And that's when things, will come into play
The peace, serenity and freedom they seeked
Was right there beside them
All they had to do was speak
No more pain and suffering
There's always a way
And sooner or later
Everything will be OK ...
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