Not A China Doll

I hate it

When you think

I'm fragile like a china doll

That you need to hold me tight

And shelter me from the world

So I try to be silent

So you won't worry about me

Or act like you are walking on eggshells

Then you say

You want to hear my opinions

You say you love to know what I'm thinking

So I speak

And then somehow

Between my lips and your ears

Misunderstanding occurs

And again, you try to put me on a pedestal

Your little china doll

Silent painted lips once more

 

Words

I will try on writing styles

Like I try on shoes

Slip them on

In silky comfort

Ease of mind

Like it's natural

Every time 

I lift a pen

Words will blossom

Like a new spring

Writing me into

My summer

Integrity

The Dream

At night I go to sleep

And dream of a black-faced beaming woman

Who is better than me in every way

And in my dream I post a picture of me holding an eagle feather

To cheer up a good friend

And I get called a racist

But then I go to my friend and both of us wrap ourselves up in a star blanket

To dance under the northern lights

Meanwhile, all is not well in Gotham city

A villain has plans to ruin some political bigwig's media circus

By wiring the area with a dangerous electrified explosive

Luckily I have done some fancy legwork

And the authorities were called

Just in time to "diffuse" the situation

And I wonder why I am a teacher when clearly I should be

A private eye

I also have a dark secret

I steal away to public washrooms

To try things I've seen on YouTube videos

Like putting water on ultra absorbent disposable diapers

To see if they really swell to 4 times their regular size!

And then I wake up

And my mouth is dry

To a darkened sky

And I wonder why

And my thoughts drift

To the black-faced beaming woman

Who is better than me in every way that counts

And I wonder if I could ever post a picture holding an eagle feather

And not be called a racist

Or is that not something a Métis should do?

And I wonder if anyone else at 2am

Is wondering about fantastical things from dreams

And wishing they could be wrapped up in a star blanket

Dancing beneath the northern lights

Because crime doesn't pay

We need to learn to build peace

And do what makes us happy

Even if it is diaper experiments

In public washrooms 

Or making someone smile

At the cost of your reputation

If we cannot dance in star blankets

Perhaps we can weave a hammock out of starlight

To rock us back to sleep

So we can dream fantastical things

Until the morning's rays come to warm our face 

Ghost Eyes

White man wanders over the land and seas like a pale ghost
So why
Do I look into the eyes of children
And see that they are ghosts too
Lost like me on the winds of change
Stuck in a time almost forgotten
Wild hair
Soulful eyes
So wide
So troubled
Wandering with the wind
Ghosts of a place long forgotten
Thrown away
Like a tattered kite
Left to the devices
Of the harsh North Wind

There are no secrets here
Where big brown eyes
Tell no lies
Burn with insatiable hunger
Search for a cure
And all I have is this tattered broom
Trying to sweep away
The scars of history
Which re-tracks mud
Faster than I can sweep
Ripping dust from the Earth, herself
Plastering it on floors, and walls, and windows
Under the cloudy sky

There is nothing here
Except ghosts
They plague my dreams
Waken me each morning
Moaning
Things I'm not ready to understand
Lashing out with tongues
As harsh
As the North Wind
Plastering my face with frozen tears
There are no secrets here
Only
Ghost eyes
Haunting me

Size

When the problems of the world seem to large

Just remember we are like specks of sand in the solar system

We are like electrons in the galaxy

But so are our the trials each day

And even a mosquito can annoy a deer

And even a mouse can scare an elephant

And even a virus can affect millions

And even a child can change the world

When we feel like we need more recognition

Just remember we are like giants to rabbits

We are like mountains to ants

We are like the galaxy to mitochondria

The universe to quarks

But even mold can make us sick

But even bees can make us cry

But even molecules can poison us

But even a child can change our world

Perspective

A quiet Monday

Watching ants amid seeds and grass

Feeling warm sun

And cooling wind

Hearing rustling trees

And distant traffic

Songbirds and crows

Smelling the sweet freshness of Spring

Tasting growth and stagnance

Birth and death

Upon the air

And pondering silently

I could just fade away

Bridge time

Sitting here

With bare feet among the dandelions

Every worry and concern

Could fade away

I can dream under the same sky

Where dreamers sat for centuries

Until pulled back into this moment

Upon the air

Birth and death

Tasting growth and stagnance

Smelling the freshness of Spring

Songbirds and crows

And distant traffic

Hearing rustling trees

And cooling wind

Feeling warm sun

Watching ants amid seeds and grass

My world goes topsy-turvy

Once again

Just another quiet Monday.

Timeless

Grandmother

Here I am back on this land

Bones strewn beneath the earth

Where the wind speaks in whispers

Stories of long ago

It can be hard to imagine

How things once were

While we live in carefully constructed

Straight rows

But I know our feet touched the same earth

Our faces felt the same sun

We listened to the same wind

And looked skywards

With dreams spanning generations

Our hearts drum the same beat

And someday I too

Will be just bone and wind