Whispering Eagle Soars

My journey had brought me home,
Home to the place of my ancestors,
It was a place of peace, a place
Of power, and place of hope.
I could hear the voices of the old ones,
And I could see them in the trees.

My life before had no reason,
Nor purpose or direction,
I left the materialness behind,
And followed my heart,
I saw the spirit of the eagle and he saw me.

I accomplished goals and had
A comfortable and successful life,
Still something was missing, a place
In my heart that was empty
And had been from the very start.

So began my journey home,
To a place I could only dream on,
To people whom I felt unknown,
But I was yet a memory to others.

The questions and the answers,
Covered in time and distance,
Came slowly and some not at all,
And today some still remain.

I did not stop to visit you when I was home
Even though I was there for a week,
I never told you how important you were to me
Those words I did not ever speak.
I always thought we would have time…

I knew that you graduated from that college
Even though it took you many years,
I did not want you to see the jealousy
That was hiding in my tears,
I always thought we would have time…

I heard from our cousin late last night
That you had given your best fight,
But even then, I sadly thought that
I was still in the right,
Because I always thought we would have time…

There are anciently tall Cedars,
And Evergreens of every sort,
And the rust colored Madronna,
And an ancient forest called Arlecho.

We are surrounded by the Puget Sound
On three of our four sides,
With the water of the Nooksack
Provided by the majestic Mt Baker.

On my reservation, the people are missing,
Walking through days of fogs and clouds,
From the hangover or the crash from the drugs,
Where are my people, they must be gone.