Beyond the Reach of Conquest

The soil of this, the designated Western Hemisphere
on which current nations are lightly inscribed
has been absorbing the biodegradable remains
of an invasive human species for a mere few centuries

whereas it is packed millennia full of the spirited remains
of its indigenous human species

If we of non-native heritage living here anticipate
we will one day enter the dirt world of this, only to us
new world, whether initially in one piece or as dust
and ground bones sprinkled here and there atop it
to be absorbed into the soil, we would do best

to be comfortable, even conversant with, certainly
deferential to the predominant culture and customs
of the native peoples whose spirits reside there

This time they will not, cannot be displaced
only befriended or provoked

10/5/2018

Copyright 2018, Philip Hughes-Luing