Burn me in air
Throw me to wind
Sprinkle me across water.
Shark’s teeth, bear claw,
wrap me in comfort.
Envelope me in protective ecstasy
as I lie in my warm mother earth.
Free my spirit to wander whispering
to cliffs and buttes
for a take-off on wings of eagle.
Speak my name that it may roam unfettered.
Lay no stones above me that my vision
be not blocked.
Set no belongings near me
that my load be light
as butterflies that follow.
We will meet soon in smoke
on hills of our mothers
and on banks of swift creeks
that cleanse our bones.
Know not regret.
Cradle grief but rejoice in freedom
and life beginning and ending in circles
of growth and hope.
orphan poems 