Fire From My Mother
Fire spirit…
Fire heart…
Fire breath…
Breathing in,
Nostrils flared,
Out, lips pursed,
Hearing echoes of you
I am never alone
You are here when
I’m breathing fire,
From this world,
Never alone, breathing
Fire from my belly
Infused with embers
Of your eyes, hearth of
Your heart, umbilical cord
Connecting us once like deep
Sea diver to oxygen tank,
Sunlight to life, vitamin D
I breathe in fire breath
You feed me, like the eagle
Feeding her weak fledgling—
“Every crow thinks her crows
Are blackest,” you said…
I breathe in fire, like a bellows
In sweaty blacksmith palms
Breathes in air, I breathe in
Fire, healers breathe, shamans
Breathe, warriors, witch doctors
Dancing ‘round leaping
Red fingers of flame, breathe
I breathe in breaths of fire
From flames you ignited…
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by Raymond Nat Turner
from Aaduna
Fall, 2015
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