somewhere else coll hamilton
Somewhere Else
It is here on this ridge
exposed to the orange dusk
of mountain autumn
that the story begins.
Buck wood for the stove
feel the heat of shoulder to tendon
greet the mule deer
and water the garden again.
In rhythm, with song
when the ax begins to blend with wind
carry on to warmer days
on the river’s open banks
where the fervor of healing is found in water.
Flow from one origin to another--
there is never a place where we cannot begin
where the current is ancient, the wind is young
teaching each other like the ax and the wood.
Carve a place for dignity
plant a seed and pray for rain
for sun
for understanding outside your self.
There will come a day when they say:
who do you think you are
and another day will come
for you to tell.
On that day the story will appear
but do not tell of yourself
tell the story of the staff that blossomed in the desert
or the one about your enemy’s greatest victory
tell the story of somewhere else
---
the story of somewhere else
Danna
when they asked
who do you think you are
it was not for me to tell
it is for you to tell
the story of somewhere else
that other time
is is for you to tell
in secret code
disguised as language
that your enemy died
an old man
in his own soft bed
