drums

at gros ventre
near the spine of the tetons
i fell asleep
to the courage
of shoshone drumbeats and songs
a message for all to hear

our own thanksgiving of sorts
taken by force
the machinery of so-called
'new world' empire

what makes the shoshone
reunion here now?
how have we become witnesses?

between dances
the shoshone elder
says
this was our hunting land
our sacred ground
our spirits
have lived within these mountains
with the origin of time

--- e b bortz

(published in earth notes and other poems, Least Bittern Books, 2015)