Sunshine, a.k.a. Pete
I never really finished this poem inspired by Pete’s birthday meeting. It’s a bit corny.
Uncle Bill had given my sister, Lani and I all eagle feathers at the power line meeting
he ran here.
This second meeting was a birthday meeting for Pete Yazzie. Earl Arkinson ran the meeting, and his lovely partner brought in the water. I was really struggling with my grief for the tragedy of a forgotten nation. It was way beyond myself.
Barely able to contain the pain, I was weeping a lot, and at one point Earl told me that I needed to
pray to the heavens…I think I had been clutching my feather and allowing the earth to hold me up.
I wasn’t offended by Earl’s remark, although it seemed misplaced somehow, and I’ll never forget how Uncle Bill
immediately came to my defense. He knew what was going on with me…how I needed to sit in that
space and beg Creation to forgive us. I will always hold a huge well of love for that man.
Interestingly enough, somehow Lani’s baby eagle feather from Pete disappeared. We couldn’t find it anywhere.
I suggested that she ask her other eagle feather from Bill to locate it. We never did find it. But almost a year later, we were prepping for another meeting and Uncle Bill, bends over and stand ups and says, “I just found an eagle feather!”
I thought I had lost
my eagle spirit
but that night
I touched the sun
We sat there
the three of us
sisters joined together
by our feathers
from the same bird.
i wondered about
the fate of the eagle feather
i had given to my friend-
another sister bonded in flight
and that was when the feather spoke
“Pray,” it said softly.
I entered sufferings
that were not my own
the fire spoke to me as well
“I’m listening.”
It was time to find my waters within,
to ask for forgiveness
for all the misunderstanding
towards our Native ancestors.
I prayed for a new day
that we could sit as one family
every color together
like in the fire
I prayed for my lost eagle spirit
and he came to me
i began to fly
over those mountains
where the woman
had found the medicine way
I prayed to be a sister to White Eagle
I prayed to be a daughter to Bill
In the morning,
eagle woman-
and I call her that
because she was the one that the baby eagle
had come to visit that day-
eagle woman-
who also speaks to our winged brothers-
brought in the water.
and the rain came again.
I knew All had been forgiven.
Imagine, a forgiveness that big.
Forgiving the murder and rape
of sacred spirits.
The roadman –
mate to eagle woman
owner of a golden heart
spoke to me.
Although he was kind
he told me how to pray-
to look up to the heavens.
He knows a lot.
But my eagle feather
taught me a different way.
Feather showed me how to put
my hands on Mother Earth
and speak directly to her.
The two men who I had been praying
to become relations to-
they spoke up for me.
No one have ever done that.
Now I know that
my eagle spirit
is free to fly
FOREVER
thegreenestjewel 