Unknown

CATEGORY

life

I am here
know not how or whence I came
Stopping others along on the road
Answers, they seek the same
tree leaves rustle above me
Are they calling my name?
And I slowly tilt my head
To the glistening sunlit sky
Ancestors, please tell me
Who am I?

Frozen in time
the mountain winds blow
Heavenly angelic voices singing
Ceremonial songs of Ramapough
Still walking on this path
not sure which way to go
Eagles soar above me
With beautiful wings they fly
Ancestors, please tell me
Who am I?

Almost to my destination
I can feel your gentle touch
Peeling off layers of German,
Spanish, Irish and Dutch
I have responded to those names
But somehow it does not mean so much
Does not give me what I seek
A natural and spiritual high
So ancestors tell me
Who am I?

Please gather together for me
a most sacred ceremonial pow wow
reaching this place on the mountain
But I have no idea how
Anxiously await your decision
And when received, I will bow
Adorn myself with native clothes
Bonnet with many feathers I will tie
Awaiting your name for me
Who am I?

And when my name is given
I will find out how to dance 
In the ways that once were in the beginning
Now that I have the chance
Ancestors found a lost sheep
Looking down with approving glance
Midnight clouds disappear
As the new morning draws nigh
Ancestors please tell me
Who am I?

Stories passed down to the children
Generations of the deer and turtle clan
Recited around the bright campfire
by every Ramapough woman and Ramapough man
celebration of dance and chant
feathers red, orange, yellow, brown and tan
the elders send smoke of celebration and thankgving 
into the Ramapough mountain sky
a soft rain descends upon me
a name is whispered into the wind
and it is I