Holder of Wisdom
1876
Time traversed throughout the land.
It saw a people,
a Nation, pushed beyond limits.
Time would not stand still.
Pony soldiers pushed and pushed,
until blue skies turned black,
and the ground became a rust-soaked red,
and the Nation, the Lakota Sioux,
finally felt free,
vindicated,
only to face a future of destined hardship.
1890
Peace came after years of struggle.
After years of pestilence,
starvation, suffering and prayer,
only to be pushed once again.
The Lakota Sioux,
an entire Nation,
were tested beyond mortal endurance.
Again came the pony soldiers.
They took all in their slaughterhouse victory
save the Lakota’s beliefs,
and, their wisdom.
Today
The struggle for peace continues.
To attain peace,
it can only be sought through wisdom,
and wisdom comes through the strong.
One such man,
The Holder of Wisdom,
is named, Sky.
Full-blooded Lakota,
soft spoken,
his eyes are dark cesspools
as if he carries the pain of generations past,
that in his retelling,
generations to follow will remember.
His face, scarred from life,
is his testament,
his struggle to continue forward.
Still, he carries his responsibility proudly,
asking no man to share his burden.
It is he who must carry others;
fearing for others as he fears nothing,
absolving the pain of many who come before him,
while he ignores his own.
Many years ago,
Sky was taught a power
not taught to just any man.
He became The Holder of Wisdom.
He holds onto a symbol of his people,
which includes his family.
Wisdom can come by logical thinking,
or tests that say you are intelligent.
Sky’s wisdom came from another direction,
nothing a white man’s school could teach.
As a Holder of Wisdom,
he, as his ancestors before him,
prays for guidance and supplication,
understanding and knowledge,
where it cannot be easily found.
He must strip away earthly needs,
put away from his mind personal emotion,
and place himself in touch with,
at the mercy of,
or the wrath of the Great Spirit,
who has guided his people since time immortal.
Leaving behind material objects,
forsaking in time of prayer, his friends,
his work, even his family;
Sky goes to a special place
directed to him by a Hanbleceya:
Vision Quest.
No longer dressed in white man’s clothing,
he sits bronzed, naked,
save for a loin cloth.
This patch of earth,
save a small trundle of withered trees,
bares no fruit or water,
nor did he bring nourishment.
A warm breeze caresses his face,
lacing through strands of long silky hair.
All he has brought with him
is held in a brown leather pouch,
aged and darkened by time,
decorated with a now faded medicine wheel.
inside, is a pipe.
Hours pass as he just sits.
He closes his mind to the world around him
and opens his mind to the world he seeks.
A world holding sacred land,
where wisdom is found
for a seeker of truth.
The pipe is full as he lights the bowl,
inhaling the thoughts,
the souls of ages past.
Sky then blows smoke
to the four corners of the earth,
raising the pipe to the heaven’s,
making final tributes and offerings
to Mother Earth in honored respect,
which has made all things great and small.
Night comes.
He continues to pray.
He cannot sleep.
It is forbidden.
The Holder of Wisdom absorbs the pain,
even the sins of his people.
But he also takes with him,
a stronger understanding.
a deeper compassion,
and of course, wisdom.
Wisdom.
The answer to all the trials,
tribulations, fears, and failures,
that abiding love,
and a people’s Nation can continue.
When four days have passed,
Sky appears older,
but his eyes are more alive;
filled with purpose.
Replacing the pipe to its sacred pouch,
he stands,
looking at an earthly sunrise,
and prepares for his journey home.
Such a huge responsibility
Sky carries within;
for his people,
his family,
for the future of a Nation.
As he walks the long road home,
the light of day engulfing him,
no one feels the bitter-sweet tear
trickling down his face,
as does he.
Sky shoulders his pain well.
And why not?
He is, Lakota Sioux.
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Thus, this concludes this collection of work. I hope all who have read perhaps have a better understanding of what happened over the last 400 years and walk away a bit better than you were when you first came here.
One thing I want to say; Sky and I are best friends and true blood-brothers. He is now 88 and still does what he does.
I want to thank all of you again for stopping by, commenting, sharing your input. It has meant a great deal to me.
This video will give you a sense of what a vision looks/feels like when transported over to the other side where time and space mean nothing.
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1876 represents the aftermath of Custer’s Last Stand
1890 represents the horrendous events Wounded Knee
Hanbleceya (Han-blay-ka)
Wakan Takan kici un (wah-can ta-can-kay-see en)
May the Creator/Grandfather/Great Spirit/God, bless you.
As writer’s ...
Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (mi-tahk-wee-a-say or
Mee-tah-koo-yay Oy-yah-seen) Kodas …
we are all related, friends.
Pilamaya (P’la my ya) ... thank you.