For Alheli Yirama and Abuela Teresa Rivas Chicahuaxochitl

This night happened last week
but perhaps it is grounded in mythic time
long long ago
not sure

it was a healing ceremony
for all participants
the stars were out
the fire (grandfather) in the middle kept us warm and lit
we prayed to the noble spirits that guide us in planetary motion
in the milky way of lactating voices and overflowing consciousness
from dusk to dawn

There was a blue deer bright luminescent
and a soaring multi colored eagle with talons and eyes wow power wow
by the flames was a rabbit playing a harmonica with steady cadence
a lil fence lizard, blue belly, kept running in and out of the fire
best of all was song birds chanting and singing
hearts bout beating outa their chests
edge of lips curled upwards just so, smiling and radiant

Rattlesnake’s rattle kept the time
while stick pounded an eight sided drum with the beat
hikuri the globose cactus came from the faraway chihuahuan desert
for a visit with long lost relatives
blooming pink petals –
elder, gramps, ancient brother, old time friend –
granting good visions of
people gathered together
with thankfulness and joy

Five was the sacred and special number
four directions
four points of the cross
the four square corners
set at right angles from one another
north east south west
four directions, plus the fifth
4 + 1 =
5

Pray to
the north for the star of direction, the pole of navigation
pray to the white light blinding of the sun and twinkling of the stars
pray to the cold snow covered north
pray to the north for the white folks
whites of the fair skin and light eyes
throw in the olive hued, date colored, and sandy toned whites too
pray for their families
pray for grounding in the earth
pray for contemplation
pray to see the eye of God and the white light within each person
prayer for my white brothers and sisters
prayer for the north
all my family
all my relations
aho

Pray to
the east for the rising sun
yellow orange rays of warmth and happiness
another day of no way this is happening
another day of dang sheer magic place
a gift that is sick nuts, throttle awesome
our spinning earth ball, web of life full of unusual beings
warm glow busting over the hills…
a curtain of color linens drawn over the backdrop of stars
pray to the east for the folks we call yellow for lack of a better word
you know, asians that range from porcelain white to dark brown
guess just lump and average em, and you get ?yellow? funny
pray for courage and bravery
pray for freedom and liberty
pray for the pursuit of happiness
prayer for my yellow grandmas and grandpas with white hair and wrinkles
prayer for the east
all my family
all my relations
aho

Pray to south for the southern cross
pray to cape horn, cape leeuwin, cape of good hope
pray to the roaring forties and
the gondwanan south
pray for my favorite direction
the very hot, very wet, very black south
african black, indian black, melanesian black, aboriginal black
pray for the blacks
pray for kindness and compassion
pray for presence and focus
pray for dignity and honor
prayer for my black uncles and aunts with the white and yellow sclera in their eyes
prayer for the south
all my family
all my relations
aho

Pray to the west
pray to the sea pacific
the west full of natives
the west full of infinite possibilities
because beyond the sierras
beyond the edge of the sea
beyond the horizon
anything might happen
you don’t know
we are here now
walking on red land,
belonging to red territory,
saluting and bowing down towards the red setting sun falling into the sea
what part of red people is red?? funny
is it the skin?
the blood in the arteries?
or that brown ochre iron red earth,
mixed with limestone and copper,
embedded in their hands and nails, flesh and sweat?
red
pray to the red police officer
pray to the red teacher
pray to the red hunter and weaver
pray to the red rancher and farmer
prayer for the red medicine woman on the road
pray for abundance and fertility
pray for the rains, pray for oceanic swells, pray for mussels and eels at low tide
prayer for my red nephews and nieces
prayer for my red cousin working on a basket that is woven of
white willow roots, white skunk bush bark, white bear grass stems
yellow tule, yellow sedge root, yellow porcupine quills
black maiden hair fern, black devils claw, black sumac splints colored by elderberry
and red redbud bark, red yucca root, red woodwardia fronds dyed by alder bark
plus bits of abalone shells and quail top knots
prayer for the west
all my family
all my relations
aho

Four directions
could be peoples
could be geography
could be the plants and animals too
north for mammals
east for reptiles and amphibians
south for birds
west for bugs and crustaceans and the like
or, could be plant communities and biomes
north for tundra
east for grasslands and plains
south for deserts
west for forests
and so on
four is just a number,
it is a tangible, not too big not too small number
simple and easy
not so big like six or seven
not so little like two to three

Lastly
Pray to the center
thats you, yes that is YOU
pray to yourself
pray within yourself
pray inside out of yourself
breathe in and out
pray with love for yourself
be generous with that love
immerse in a meadow of flowers
tuck yourself in with a blanket of petals
listen to a bird song lullaby
connect your tendrils to that of others
spiraling colored grabbers on a dew dropped web of light
the center, your center,
is also the center of the universe, the core
what it all revolves around
you are the fifth of five
the 1 of the 4+1
you are the axle in the wheel
the eye of the storm
the nucleus of the atom
the sun in the solar system

And so, that is the path,
it goes inwards
your roots down and out
your molecular vibrations, and your electro magnetic wave resonance,
transcend and beam up to the sky,
as they mesh and bathe in the radiation of the sun
acknowledge the four directions
and look up to the heavens, while we
pray for anchorage
pray for understanding
pray for harmony
pray for forgiveness
pray from the stillness inside

Pray for the all the little kids
pray that they grow strong and respected
fierce and independent
bonded and embedded in good community
pray they make the cross of four directions
white yellow black and red
and bring the wobbly clay ball
back to center
on the spinning wheel of a steady boom boom boom boom beat
prayer for all my family
prayer for all my relations
aho

Pray to the land and rocks and crystals
pray to the plants and animals
pray to the waters salty and fresh, water in the sky and water at the poles
pray to the sky dark and light, rainbow strewn and thundering clouds
pray to the fire in the molten core and the flames dancing within
thats five
that magic number again
aho

Perhaps one day the butterfly might emerge from the chrysalis
seems we’ve been meta morpho sizing for a long time now…
you have dreamt this story poem, or something like it, before?
well then we are sharing a thought and an emotion and a vision together, repeated in an infinite cycle
there is a joke element to it, as well as a justice angle, and confusing as all heck too
once you realize this, it is…
endless hahaha laughter
and thus
grant us strength and endurance and patience
so that we can work together
enjoy each other’s being
and pray in a circle
around a fire
for all my family
for all my relations
breathe out
sigh hard
let it go
the bitterness and anger
regret and sadness
its not worth it
we have just this moment in time
treasure it
aho

PS
Prayer
is that something denominational or religious?
is it designed to keep some people in, some people out?
does whoever pray the hardest, win?
is the christian god different from the islamic god different from the communist god different from the black hole of exploding expanding universes god different from the stockmarket god?
is praying to mother nature pagan and absolutely ‘the wrong god’?
do you pray to statues and figurines, or pray to mountains and rivers?
maybe you think you are God and act like it too LOL
does it show weakness to pray?
does it mean i am an irrational insecure and unreasonable person who
believes in things unseen and difficult to observe?
is there a right way to do it?
a set routine you gotta follow?
what does praying even mean?
funny
not sure

What I mean by prayer here is that
you send your positive hopeful energy
reciting, singing, playing, greeting, walking, cheering, laughing
full bore open
into the universe
not judging, denigrating, putting down, talkin sh t, badmouthing, polarizing
not poisoning the well, so to speak
when you pray, you are not by yourself,
you are not stuck in and on and within your own
mind, ego, thoughts, riff raff, ding dong and so on
we make a conscious effort to
acknowledge, befriend, and give thanks to the
planetary and cosmic forces that bind all of this together
its all conscious, it is all sentient, it is a reflection of us
thats all
its one of them, simple, ‘duh’ and ‘oh’ things
hahaha
aho!