Night Sky's Poem


    My spirit animals are the Buffalo (given to me by the Great Spirit) and the Peregrine (who has been always with me).   The Peregrine was in  danger of extinction for many years but is now making a comeback. He,  like myself, seems to wander about aimlessly, but does, in fact, have a  purpose to his wandering. They will travel many hundreds of miles over  open ocean without sight of land. The Peregrine is also the fastest animal on earth! ....Night Sky!


  ~ The Purification Lodge ~
     
It was my first time in the sweat lodge,

       I remember the night so well.

       I was looking for an experience,

       so to others I could tell,
    
what happens when you're in there,

       is it spiritual like they say,

       or is it just the heat and humidity

       that make your cares go away?
      
The lodge was built rather quickly,

       with everyone in the group pitching in,

       with long birch sapling in a circle,

       selected sinewy and thin.
      
Every inch was covered over with blankets,
 
      including the east facing door,

       with a deep stone pit in the center
      
and cedar sprigs padding the floor.
      
We all gathered around the fire

       with the stones heating up cherry red.

    The peace pipe passed around the circle,

       the stars in position overhead.
      
The drums broke the nightly silence

       and the ancestors were invited inside.

       The sceptic that was in me

       just going along for the ride.
      
Inside we sat in a circle,

       the hot stones were then brought in

       and water splashed upon them,

       and the cleansing did begin,
      
with words of gratitude to my God

       for the life He's given me,

       and, a "thank you" to my grandparents

       for the man I am to be.
      
Cedar, sage and sweetgrass

       make sparkles on the stones.

       The darkness, steam and fragrance

       create the mood that you're alone,
      
back in the womb of your mother

       comfortable and anxiety free.

       Then, in my mind I detected a voice

       of someone speaking to me.

       Was it the sound of silence,

       a muted whisper so surreal,

       or was it the voice of my ancestors,

       whose presence I could feel?

       I called out to my grandmothers

       asking them for a sign,

       to prove their spirits were visiting
 
      from a world collateral with mine.
      
The orange glow of the stones
      
was all that I could see.

       Suddenly, it came like an earthquake

       the ground shaking under me,
      
so violently that the dew

       from the leaves above us fell

       and hissed upon the stones,

       that were glowing in the well.

       A light came out of the forest

       and descended upon the roof,

       the old fire tender named Ruby

       sagely augured up as proof,
      
that my grandmothers did indeed
      
visit with me that night,

       bringing to me the message

       that everything is alright.
      
That was the night the skeptic

       that lived in me passed away,

       changing my life forever.

       I remember to this day,
      
the feeling of tranquility

       this occurrence brought to me,

       to know my destination,

       when this world sets me free.
      
By: Night Sky >|:-)

Ron Crowley ©Copyright 2/1/98


It is with permission, love and respect that I post Night Sky's Poem. He has quided me on my journey....sometimes harshly, but most of the time gently, through some very hard times.
He sent me the Owl, and his daughter's Crow (Raven) visits.
May he walk in the Sunshine of the Spirit!

    




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Updated July 5, 2005 by Who Else....PurpleHawk