December 2014
Poetry
Voice of the Sacred Waters
by Elizabeth M. Cardarelli
Elizabeth M. Cardarelli is a Fairhaven College graduate with her interdisciplinary degree in Creativity through Art and Dance, BA’s in Elementary Education and Fine Arts with a Fabric Art Concentration.
After Totem Pole Journey Blessing Ceremony, Lummi Nation, August 17, 2014 with a line from Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
Voice of the Sacred Waters, loudly:
People, people, spiritual warriors, where are you?
We need you to advocate for the water.
Please, will you look at us, talk to the spirits?
Small Shell Person, heartfelt:
Voice of the Waters, I hear you.
I am looking at you.
The otters, the orcas, the Old Ones —
Each of you is my cousin, my uncle, my child.
We are connected.
My voice is your voice.
Voice of the Sacred Waters:
We see you in your shimmering shell,
inside a tender skin, a water-dweller.
You have risen to find yourself on land,
a vulnerable animal taking refuge —
you slid out of our cosmic world,
a being made of moon milk.
You often walk on our distant shores.
Will you return to the Old Village
make the sounds of the Salish Sea?
Small Shell Person:
I fear they will not believe me
When I remind the faceless powers
that we are stewards of the wetlands here,
the fish and the people will suffer
as your water creatures are destroyed
I am salt, sweat and ocean
I will do everything I can to protect you.
I will project my love into the song cave at Cherry Point.
Voice of the Sacred Waters:
Water contains the power of thought.
We want you to go to the depths of your mind, your soul
To reveal the vulnerable sea spirit that you are.
Show them you are water-born
carrying other important powers.
Ask them to remember.
The People of the Sea know the truth
About saving the planet.
Small Shell Person:
I love you.
I listen from the other side.
I for one will not abandon you.
To know you as resource is to know you as myself
longing for your touch
your hydration, your food, your captivating beauty.
Oh Water, I have seen the healing ritual
I might perform, to take my earth stewardship seriously
to protect and acknowledge your body
to travel to your shore
with my strong intention
to set the developers straight.
Voice of the Sacred Waters:
You are witness. You are medicine.
I have always been here with you.
Drink me. Honor me.
Pray and heal.
Gather round.
