Wounded, I walked away
but you pursued me
relentlessly,
chased me off this small corner
of land that was my home
and into a far country
until I surrendered
and told you
I will fight no more forever;
I had finally seen too much
bloodshed and death.

Here on this reservation,
in this strange world
you fashioned for me like a god
(and expect me to thank you for),
I fade into the mist
into the underworld
of the not yet dead,
captive of a life
that is not of my own making;
I shadow spirit self,
already gone.