Vision

I faced the great plain

Grasses to the horizon

The sun rose as I sang my song

To the Four Winds

I sang out my name and

Sang of my tribe

I sang of my ancestors

My father and grandfathers

On the wind I heard

A bone flute playing far away

Then I closed my eyes

And in my mind I saw

The smoke of a thousand fires

Coming like a great heard of buffalo

The thick, gray clouds hid the grasslands

And I could not see

I heard screaming and running and crying

Many who were confused, lost and afraid

And I called out to them

To come towards my voice

Slowly, through the smoke

I saw many animals approaching me

Deer and squirrels and rabbits

Coyotes and bears and hawks

All manner of creatures

Running from the smoke

Suddenly they all cried out,

“Save us!  Save us from the smoke!”

Then I opened my eyes

And saw only the grassy plain before me

No animals and no smoke

No running or crying or screaming

So I turned away

To walk back to my people