Sailing Stones

Don’t fall down in Puget Sound 

because the trees won't hear you
with all their closed ears.

The sky does not wait to mirror the salmon
for her heart she will always ransom
regardless of reverence.

Buffalo don’t need our haunting dreams
to realize they were born forgotten
and will be again and again.

If you listen to the wind riding the ocean
you can hear the fleeting Psalm
of the banshees they were.

The snow is far sadder than any broken heart
because the snow is a heart of its own
always falling.

Do not forget the girl who bore you
who never dreamed
of throwing you back to sea.