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POETRY OF KENNETH MEADOWS
LOOK TO THE EARTH
Look to the Earth
and the skies
the sun, moon, and to the stars
you who would be wise.
For they contain the full measure of man
the height, the breadth, the depth, the span
of his entirety.
Look to the Earth
and to the skies
and watch them turn
like pages in a holy book
but one untouched by human hand
you who would be wise.
Look to the Earth
and to the skies
for in that which can be seen without
can true knowledge come
of unseen mysteries that lie within
to you who would be wise.
Look to the Earth
and to the skies
in spring and summer,
winter and fall.
Watch life begin, unfold, then fade and die
to rise anew
time and again for time untold
you who would be wise.
Look to the Earth
and to the skies
and in your looking, learn this mystery:
That you who look to the Earth
and to the skies
shall be given eyes to see
shall be given eyes
to make you wise
eternally!
WAKAN-TANKA TALKS
Waken-Tanka talks with me
through no pages of a book
penned by the thoughts of men.
No words, no creed, no dogma
writes he to bind me to a clan.
In flight of birds that wing their way
to lands beyond my sight
In trees that root and take their time
to grow to their full height.
In flowers whose petals hold
such fragrance in their clasp
and every single animal
with purpose in its grasp.
In sun that rise with each dawn
to herald a new start
in moon that holds the ebb and flow
of tides within her hand.
In Venus, Jupiter, and mars
and stars that form his heavenly band.
In everything that breaths
and moves
and crawls
and flows
and stands
Waken-Tanka talks to me!
THE SPIRT OF THE RED MAN
I am not separate from my creation
any more than your thoughts
are separate from you.
I am not the reality behind the world
but the reality that is in it.
For I am in the world with you
in all your life
wherever you are
wherever you go
wherever you look.
You can see me in the moon
and in the stars
that bring forth light
out of the darkness.
You can feel me in the breeze
that kisses your cheek.
You can hear me in the flowing waters
that refresh and renew.
The tiny seed that grows to a mighty Oak
contains my power.
And the bud that blossoms forth in flower
enfolds my fragrance.
I am with you now
in the ever-changing present
that is true eternity.
Closer than the breath
that brings your body life.
Closer than the thought
that springs within the mind
that ignorant man call finite.
Closer than the beat
that keeps your heart in tune.
For I am to be found nowhere
but where you are.
For I am the one that is all.
Anywhere
everywhere
And I am all that is one
in everyone
so find me now.
Touch me now.
Feel me now.
And love me now.
Wherever you are.
Then you will walk the Earth in beauty.
THE SACRED PIPE
Behold, the sacred pipe
which is a holy altar.
A place for communion for the individual
and for the people.
For the bowl is goddess, mother and grandmother;
the receptive circle with a center
the point within the circle
the womb and source of all.
The bowl is also the zodiac.
The circle of the medicine wheel
the center of the universe
and also the heart of man.
So let this bowl transform you
let it take you from the outside in
from space to spacelessness
from time to timelessness
from the form to spirit.
Then consider the stem.
It is the God, father, and grandfather
the rod, the lance, the conceptual force
and creative seed of us all.
Let your mind be as straight and as true
as the way of the tiny hole
that leads along the stem
to the heart of the bowl
and the center of all that is
the connecting link
between the Heavens above
amd the Earth beneath
joining that which is above
with that which is beneath.
By putting this pipe together
you join more than stem to bowl
sky to earth.
You are joining all things to yourself
so that when you smoke
all things send their voices to the Great Spirit
along with yours.
In this pipe all the elements are involved
Earth, in the red stone of the bowl
Fire, which will be contained in it
Water, by the spittle of your mouth
And Air and Breath, by the smoke which will come forth
to the Great Spirit
from which all things have their origin.
So when you pray with this pipe
you pray not to Wakan-Tanka
but with Wakan-Tanka
and with grandmother earth and all plants
and with grandfather sun and all the stars
and with everything that is
everything the Great Spirit has created
everything the Great Spirit is in.
Behold the sacred pipe
the smoke from which
will touch the Earth with fragrance
and reach even beyond the Heavens
that you too may touch the Earth with beauty
and that your thoughts maybe elevated
above the stars.
With this pipe you shall walk a living prayer
your feet resting on grandmother earth
the pipe stem reaching into the sky
to the grandfather
your body linking the sacred beneath
with the sacred above.
From above Wakan-Tanka has given you
this sacred pipe
so that you may have a companion
as you walk the Earth
to bind you with all your relatives
that through it, you may have knowledge
and through knowledge, understanding
and through understanding, wisdom.
So through it, every dawn as it comes
and everyday from this time forth
becomes holy.
For so great a treasure
be grateful
and walk in beauty
throughout all time!
THE MEDICINE WAY
Let light enfold me
that my inward eye may see clearly
the path that lies ahead.
Let my mind be opened up
that I may recognize
the sign posts along the way.
Grant me the wisdom
that comes from understanding
the true from the false.
And guide my steps
so that should I falter or stumble,
tripped by former beliefs
that blind me still
I may go forward with courage
and with the determination
which persistance bears.
Let me be embraced
with the love by which
the whole creation is moved.
The very essence with which
all things are held together
dependent yet independent,
whole yet individuated,
in which all our my relatives.
Let me know the way
that is the beauty way
the beautigul way
where all who will
may walk in beauty
and where the end of the path
is but a new beginning
to my infinity.
And every new beginning
another ever-present moment
in eternity!
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