Memory Keeper

I keep the memories in my blood.
I keep the scents of the plants in my skin, never to wash away.
I keep the records in my bones.
The Grandmothers beckon us to speak
The ancient language of Mother Earth
Who lives inside our bodies
And expresses
Beauty
Love
Pain
And change
The landscape teaches us if only we listen and receive
The gifts
The path
The medicine
The Grandmother is shaking her feathers wildly
To us, now, in command. To become and to step up
It is time
To kiss the tears of our men,
To worship the stretch marks of our bellies,
To sing like Frog Woman from the waters deep inside our needs unmet
To announce our right to remain whole
To scream like Hawk Woman in protection of our territory: Earth!
Our water, our air, our soil, our own Earthly bodies, searching
I heed the call of the woman lost
And found
I let in the medicine through my hands on her flora, her stone, her pitch
I let in the medicine through my cheeks on morning dew, my knees in the sentient river, my heart paying vibrant attention
I keep the memories in my blood,
I tell them
To the girls and to the women and to myself
I tell them to the paper and the garden and the unsuspecting neighbor
I ink them into others when I cast my gaze,
A spell of needed change
Bring it on I say. We are ready. We are strong. We are remembering.