Today's National Poetry Day so to celebrate that, here's a poem on the theme of the day, water. It's from my collection Castings, now out of print. I found this traditional Cree story and loved it so much I wanted to see if it worked in the environment I am familiar with. In the Cree version I found, it is told by a man who is watching, with a wishing bone, hidden in some bushes. I've translocated it to the Highlands and retold it from the woman's point of view.
Wishing Bone Poem
(from
a Cree story told by Jacob Nibeneganesabe)
This is my
story.
I am
married to this peaty pool.
He washes
me
quenches
my thirst
is fond of
amphibians and ferns
sparkles
in breezes.
I show him
my love
swimming
in him
gently.
Earlier
this summer
the
arsonist sun
scorched
him away.
I lay in
the dry hollow
waiting
for rain.
Storms
came
but their
waters drained away.
I wept in
the dry hollow.
Salt tears
crusted my face.
I went
looking for my husband-pool
trawled
the glens and mires
calling.
I found
him in a dark rocky hole.
He bathed
my eyes clear.
Ever since
I have been bringing him home
little by
little
cupped in
my hands.
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