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AFRICA
In the Dogon
Country
I met a man
named Musa, in Dogon country.
He was a cook.
One night at dinner, he served chicken.
It was the same one I saw that afternoon,
Heading into the kitchen,
Squawking, hanging upside down,
Feathers hiding the meatless bones.
I had millet and chicken legs,
An eighth of an inch of meat
Around the underdeveloped bones
Which were not much larger than toothpicks.
It was all Musa had. I got the best.
He always smiled.
His pride as a person and a cook beaming
Satisfied with my empty plate.
How do I tip you, Musa,
What do I say to you?
You have kept me alive for quite a while now,
With your beautiful smile and your pride,
And your open heart.
I never knew until I met you, Musa
That I could live on a Dogon's smile.
I ate little at your table and came away full,
Nourished by your shared heart.
When I got home, so many people said:
"You look good, you look healthy, your face is so clear."
BEFORE
excerpt from
"Only the Gypsy Men Could Do It"
"The suburban
grade school and teachers didn't do it,
The parents didn't do it,
The other school kids didn't do it,
The community didn't do it,
At this time, in this skinny young boy's life,
Only the Gypsy men could do it."
FOUR
SEASONS
Excerpt from a poem about my medicine brother Gray Antelope www.lewallenjewelry.com/grayantelope
"He Gathers
Them Gently"
He talked about
living under the arms
Of his grandfather
The safety of it
When we left
He said he was going to Taos
He went to the south
Away from Taos
I am one of his children
He gathers them gently
Each day
COBRA
Ten minutes
ago,
A women asked me
About the silver snake
On my vest.
I said, "Cobra."
The men standing around
Said, "Very dangerous.
You like animals?"
"Yes"
I put my fanny pack
On the counter
To get a Koala bear business card out.
The women jumped,
Said something in Arabic
And ran away.
The men said:
"She thinks
You have a cobra in that bag."
GEOMANCY
The eight qualities
of Geomancy
A short little book on how to use the power of the subconscious
Mind to create what we want. "A way to harmonize one's living
space (house, land, self) with the body language of the earth"
HAWAII
The elder touched
his heart many times,
As he walked by the ancient temple.
He walked silently away with his friend.
She never asked what he did.
A short time later he said goodbye to her
And blessed her journey.
His fan now
sits, drying in the hot island sun, Carrying love for his brother
on the trade winds.
THE
HEART
"Dinner
of Tears"
Go to my grandfather
page
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INDUJUWANYDJUWA
"Witchity
Generosity"
I'm with a
mob of Aboriginals at Pine Hill Station
When a four- year-old Aboriginal boy comes up to me
With a long white witchity grub in his hand
I watch the little guy eat the witchity
When he bites into it
It oozes out his mouth
green, yellow, brown
all over his lips and cheek
he rubs it in
The little guy puts it in his mouth
Pulls hard
The grub stretches like licorice
He looks up at me
Reaches out his short little arm
Holding the grub with his finger
"Yours Now," he says.
INNER
WORK OUT
excerpts from "Firing up the Two Flat"
My job- to crumple newspapers and spin them into tight rolls
Like little paper
logs
Ilight a fire every day now in my fireplace
I roll the paper
the same way
It all reminds me of firing the two flat
Until the point that he would put his hand
On my shoulder and light the match
That was one of his jobs- I was too young
This morning my heart
shook and shuddered
Looking for that fire starter with his hand on my shoulder
He taught me how safe it was
With fire in the boiler room
We did this day after day after day.
SHAMANISM
"The Herbs Wait"
A clear mind, energy and stamina,
A little something for the digestive system,
A little something for a long life,
A tonic for everything,
A little something to sleep like a puppy.
We"re all here!
Just start mixing.
Ah!
The herbs wait
And wait
For you!
THE
SHAMAN'S COAT
To the Lower World,
I journey,
To a Magical Tree, I journey,
With this tree I merge,
I spiral down and down
Into its deep roots,
Down and Down
Into the dark.
My guide finds
me,
Comes to lead the way
Out of the swirling Dark.
Into a Clear and Bright world
We fly, Guide and I.
My guides and teachers are many:
Plants, Rocks, Birds, Animals,
Ancestors, spirits, Songs, and Dance
STORY
DRUM
(a Little book by Laura LewAllen)
excerpt from "You and Me"
And when they are apart,
it doesn't matter because that
Bond is always there.
But as if that isn't enough,they
Were each given a gift that they
can have and hold, and
Hold themselves or others,
and just by using it, it
Reminds them of the great love
they have. This gift
Was, is and will be in the hands
they were given, the
Same wonderful hands.
TROUT
RECIPES
Truchas Botticelli
Trout Chinoise
Trout al Greco
Truchas De Santa Fe
Bake trout in 1/2 cup lime juice and oil at 425° for 15 to 20
minutes. Make a bed of roasted green chile with thinly sliced fresh
red and green peppers and onions quickly sautéed in hot oil. Top
with Chile and onions. Serve with lime wedges
VOICES
OF THE DREAMTIME
an Audio Cassette by Ross LewAllen
Share the myths and stories of the world's oldest continuous culture as told by the youngsters and elders of the Kakadu people.
Narrated by Ross LewAllen
Cassette $12.95 plus shipping
E-mail for your copy: oon@nets.com
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