The hills and the Apache

A old poem when I was seeking who I was. Written in 1992.

                       












                    





The hills and the Apache

I had a bottle of good tequila. A bag of some fresh lemons.
I drove for three hours to the California fault line.
Do some free-climbing and drink till I didn't give a s**t.

On my walk into the mountain.
A old Native American  begin to walk with me.
He looked at me. Told me. "You have came a long way.
Learn so little. I want to sit with you. Maybe we can learn from each other."

I told the man my name. My name is John. Just a soldier trying to forget.
The old man reached out and took my hand.

 Told me.  "I'm a old Apache. A old man seeking  friendship
and maybe we can share your magic juice. They call me White Buffalo"

I smiled and thought the man loco. But he looked safe. I told him he was welcome to
join my walk and drink the tequila.

He told me the story of tequila. "Tequila was once a plant for medicine. Could make the mind
find it sorrow and pain. Now white man drink the medicine for entertainment.'

I took the old man to my secret waterfall. Hidden in between four hills.  I have brought few to this spot.

White Buffalo told me. "This is a special place here. Captain Jack and his braves drank from this water many times in the past."

He unhooked his small drums. Gently sang a prayer to the Native Americans who lived and died here. I listen  to the prayer and wander into my thoughts.

The gentle tapping of the drum and the taste of the tequila made me think of people missed and lost on my journey to feel everything in life that can be felt.  Faces of people gone appeared in my thoughts. I desired forgiveness for leaving so many. So many things left behind.

White Buffalo stopped playing the drum. Create a fire with some sticks and  brought out a small pot. He put some water into the small pot. In a small bag he brought out some plants. I watched him break them apart and put them into the water.

He smiled and told me. "Today we will drink the ancient tea. We will watch the sun fall and rise. We will sing to the moon. We will become one with the waterfall and the mountain. We will become like the four hills. Able to take the pain and the burden of the seasons. Allow the pain and misery of yesterday to fade away."

I drank the tea. The old man face faded in and out. He was singing to the mountain. I had dreams of my brothers. Their faces were laughing and whispering to me. "We are Okay. One day we will find us again."

In the morning I awoke sitting against the rocks.

White Buffalo told me. " Life is long. Easy for no-one. The spirit of your blood must come alive. Allow the anger to turn to strength. Do some good things and don't repeat the same mistake twice. Your life must have direction. I love these hills and the waterfall. Some nights Captain Jack come to me. Whisper secrets of life and mystery. He told me. Native Americans must protect nature. We are responsible for the earth, the sky and the water."

White Buffalo shook my hand. He give me some stones and told me. "When anger overtake you. Hold the stones. Bring the anger  into the stone and live with the spirit of peace and kindness."

He left me alone on the cliff and waved goodbye to me. I wanted to thank him, but he disappeared quickly into the vast hills of the California fault line. I felt lighter and strong this morning.  I saw the clear sky and felt a new desire to be alive. I knew greed and hate must leave my thoughts and life. I had to find a reason to be alive.

I still remember White Buffalo words. Native Americans must teach the people of this world. To protect the animal, the earth, the green and the water..
  
                                  Coyote
                                 1992
 

Author's Note

A very old poem. Old thoughts and memories. Any mistakes. Please assist a old writer.

Reviews

[khalid]

people are the cause of all coruption on earth. imagine how earth was before manking come to live on it, i am sure there wasnt any kind of pollution! earth was then pure, vergin, clean, never touched. but after people started to settle when they started to farm lands, built houses, villages then cities, then the corrupt was the most after the industrial revolotion which started in England and then spread to all of your to other countries. but now, then what? where are we going and taking earth with us? what about the future of next generations? i think we should really be careful for our planet. thank you so much for this nice writing

[Octob3r Star]

You could almost picture yourself inside this. Very intuitive and well written. Thanks for the write. Cheers

[MoriartyMesa]

Having the blood, I respect the words more than you will know. But knowing the blood, i know White Buffalo meant something else, thats what made this more chilling.

Honestly, not since my last trip in The Black Hills, did I feel that 'ghost' . Except now.

[Abdul Aziz]

This writing is at once meditative and emotional, and teaches a very valuable lesson even though it doesn't come anywhere near to a preachy tone. It sits somewhere between a poem and a story, and I don't think I've read many works of this sort. I guess we humans started leaving a trail of destruction as soon as we started leaving nature. You always aim to impart some wisdom with your work, as you've done here. Beautiful.

[Sagar Waingankar]

When we are travelling all alone we do experience many things on our way. We look through many perspectives, thinking quite deeply about them. Beautiful story to read about a man who witnessed nature! Thanks for sharing! Love and Light!

[KalliRose]

You Sir, are a fantastic writer.

[jennifer little]

very nicely done keep up the good work thanks for sharing with me

[Poe Redd]

Wow, this was... captivating. Awesome write!

[Nicole]

This is definitely worthy of some public notice. If you haven't submitted it to a magazine or writer's digest, I would highly recommend that you do. Very excellent!

[Leslie Philibert]

I really admire Coyote`s work. This is a really fine piece of prose, well written in a professional way, but true, honest and well observed. And best of all it transports truth without preaching,simple words that stand for themselves without taking the moral high ground. Good work.

[Stacey Watts]

This was a very nice story. I really enjoyed the way it flowed and the storyline was good. I enjoy reading about two cultures colliding and learning from each other. It is nice to learn the different ways of others.