" I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.
I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures."
Apache Chief Geronimo
.............................................................................................
The Shaman held up his jewel encrusted medicine stick
a heady scent of opium permeated the air
the incessant beating of tom toms
pounded through my brain
my eyes met his, transfixed by his smile
he said I will be to you
like the fungi growing on the tree stump
take what you need from what I say
and sift the rest for another day
your dreams are like the wild, restless buffalo on the plains
and you are still, a long long way from home
his snakeskin rattle flew through the air
spinning in quick revolutions
illustrative pictographs in motion
like in a recurring nightmare, I took it all in
stirring vivid memories and flashbacks
of the harrowing nights I clung to my mother
when terror raged within and without
the medicine man's eyes narrowed
as he fixed me with a benign grin
the tonic for your latent illness
is to start loving yourself
above all else
I started quivering deep down inside
he knew me better than myself
painted cheeks, and emerald eyes
stark reflections of another time
he held my hand in a friendly grip
and comforted me with words of wisdom
I could tell he didn't belong to this earth
as his presence shimmered in psychadelic trance
raven hair bedecked his crown
golden ringlets on his leathery wrists
his force of will was awesome
a man of war, who gave no quarter
and who could kill with just a piercing glance
other men went weak and faint
if he just came into sight
a screeching owl descended with outstretched talons
across my line of vision
I remained stock still
as his words came tumbling out
the atmosphere was charged and electric
as he chanted in measured , native tongue
and as he silently began to vanish
behind a ritual haze
I heard a barely audible whisper
draw closer to Great Spirit
and Great Spirit will draw closer to you
Copyright by Peter Paton 2006
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To find ones soul path, all they need do is to be silent and absorb the Spirit of Love that encompasses all it creates.
Most eloquently written Peter. Your own wisdoms shine as clear Light here.
Birgit and Roger
kind of poetry, this type of thought. Excellent!
I have learned and have enjoyed the reading of this poetic-historic grand. "Soliloquy With A Shaman Part 2".
I salute You, Poet!
Andre Emmanuel Bendavi ben-YEHU
Paul;-)
Love Tinka
and you are still, a long long way from home
Marvelous Peter, my dreams sadly often seem the same. That is one marvelous graphic, and I've often been mesmerized by Geronomo's words above, and I'd like to believe that they are true - "We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say."
RAge
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in America, Karen Lynn in Texas. :D
Lin
If you have a moment, I am going to take your audience back to your astronaunt series and tie Soliloquy With A Shaman in with it. Here goes.
SHAMANS AND ASTRONAUTS WALK ON THE MOON
Anthropologists have sometimes been asked if it is true Americans have walked on the moon, but the questioners have then added, "But why did they need so much equipment---our shamans don't need any of that! For some villagers in Nepal, the moon is the land of the dead, and the question arises. "Did they meet our dead up there?" A widespread story in Siberia is that when the US astronaut John Glenn reached the moon, he was met and helped by an old white-haired Russian doctor and wise-man called Ivanov, who when he reached the end of his long life, had ascended there from earth. End of Story!
Sage
I regognize the artist, because I was into many forms of shamanism traveling years with diffrent nations (tribes ) to Pow Wow's.. The work is beautiful, my poet friend
love joanne
Eileen
I'm proud of you my friend.
Susan
Janet
"He knew me better than I knew myself...." wow, such power and grace in this line, in this entire write; very well penned!
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.