Joy in Oklahoma

image borrowed from bing

Joy in Oklahoma

We human beings are faced with all kinds
of tests in this world.
We don’t always understand them.
There are some things
that take an eternity to understand.

There has never been any doubt as to my mother’s love,
and I have to believe that the love of the Creator
(who is not invested in any religious affiliation)
remains steadfast and center to any path,
to any endeavor begun with the intent
to bring kindness to the world,
though sometimes it may seem otherwise.

We may not understand the why
of the injustice
of the bloodshed,
the forced move far away from our beloved lands,
but we are in a story that winds through eternity.
And we are still standing together.

I needed the people that afternoon.
I was fresh with grief
from my mother’s passing from this world.

I felt the memory of the people
as it lives in our bones.
I renewed my promise to carry my part
of the story home the best way possible.
This is home. This is what home means.

Joy Harjo

Written in Tulsa recently.
Posted over on her site Poetic Adventures in the Last Word Blog