THE ORDINARY WORLD

Black clouds smolder and rumble warnings
As Thunderbird flees his cave to hunt orca
He blinks his big red eye and lightning strikes
Black and white Killer Whales shoot to the sky
They dive and beat the water in challenge
Thunder rolls as leviathans wrestle

I light candles and huddle safe in bed
with books of poetry written by friends
I turn dog-eared pages and taste the words
hot sweet and sour burning away hunger
She has bright dancing horses in her soul
whinnying and snorting, chasing her on

We play and balance on the world's thin edge
an owl dance with Dog Soldiers in glasses
Our grandmothers wouldn't understand the words
Twined as in cedar and sweetgrass baskets
They laugh behind hands at unnamed passions
They whisper of boys long dead who sang love songs

The drums of battle fade into heartbeat
As each bloody warrior retreats back home
Burning stars and moon reclaim the cleared sky
Magnetic air recharges my tired soul
With tonight's magic of ancient story
Urging me to tell it one more time