Weather beaten hands,
oiled skin ruddy brown
beats out a rhythm,
healing fatherland.
Haida Nation

Whale bone shaped baton
duet against a cedar bowl drum
remembers his past as a bear
his hide now the leather,
Haida man, celebrates.

Medicine man
calls to the ocean
deep within his heart
salt fills his eyes
a place for tears to filter his loss,
his hair feathers of crow.
Haida man meditates.

He cries for a nation
of Dragon Boat people.
Songs of old generations
of hunters, canoes crafted
with carvings of ancestral homage.
Haida man paints his life in sand.

He raises his fist
and calls out the voice of the whale,
great Orca, offering sage
in a small tin cup,
floating in respectfullness.
Haida man laughs.

His dance becomes a whirl wind
blanket draws eagles attention
as his anger turns to bliss
wings expanded across the sky.
Haida man is solitude.

Haida people of cedar
Salmon offerings to the fires
dug deep within the shoreline.
Haida man echoes his shadow.

Totem pole stands like a fortress
beloved wolf Carin headdress
bears witness to his sorrow.
Haida man in tradition of respect.

One last dance
to his love,
his wife
his life.
Unconditional he offers now himself up
to his purpose, a passion
for an island he calls home.
Haida man is complete.
Haida Nation.

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