Hummingbird

I am encircled
By hours of darkness,
So many of them
In each and every day.
I sit within the stillness
Listening to the silence.

My woman is gone
She was my hummingbird,
How wondrously she filled
Our lodge with glory and joy.
In age she slowed
As if she lost use of her wings
But her beauty never diminished.
It was such an honor
That she loved me.

She was my comfort,
Her warmth a blanket,
In her presence I felt
...far more than I was.
Always a source of great wisdom,
Within her she possessed
Such power to comfort me,
Even in my darkest moments.
She gave me light.

My lodge is empty
For it is no longer
Filled with her laughter.
How I hunger
For her touch.
Soon...He whom we thank
For the blessings
Of our being,
And for the bounties
...of Mother Earth,
Will rejoin us
My hummingbird and I.

Such a small, delicate bird
That quivered to death
Within my arms.
She rose as spirit
Leaving me behind
...an empty shell
Of the man and feared leader
I once was.

Without her hovering
Around me... how empty my heart,
My son, our son
Is the Chief now,
The warrior, the fearless
Who will lead the tribe,
On their nomadic wanderings.

While I?

I am encircled
By hours of darkness
So many of them
In each and every day.
I sit within the stillness
Listening to the silence,
Until her wings I hear again.