Is There a Deer Constellation?
poem
Once upon a time on the rez, we found a dead deer so decayed that it had become a carpet on the forest floor— its brown and white hide draped over green and yellow wild grass. We Indian kids, who already understood more about death than we should've, marveled aloud at the beautiful finality of that deer. It had become a relic that required brief worship, first with a child's words and then with a child's silence. After our little service, we walked farther into the woods and continued our prayer and play elsewhere. We Indian kids were poor, half- broken, and afraid on too many days, but we also knew there are thousands of ways to be blessed by wilderness.
There was a small canyon beside my family home. A mile long, 100 feet deep, maybe 2 or 3 hundred feet wide at the top. The small creek at the bottom that carved it had rainbow and cutthroat trout in it. I spent most of my summer in that canyon, fishing or watching the resident Kingfishers dive into the creek and come out with their meals. It was there I felt "a part of". My favorite place in the world is deep in the forest. It has always been there that I feel closest to my creator and at peace. I am absolutely sure there is a Deer Constellation. Thank You.
there are thousands of ways
to be blessed by wilderness.
Humans can cause great wreckage and the wilderness is the repair shop.