Lakol Wacoun
by Lydia Whirlwind Soldier
I retreat to the edge of dreams
empty my heart of haunting fears
I fly with the red-tail hawk
along the bank of rolling thunderheads
into the mysteries of prayer
“There is no word for religion”
Grandpa said
“It is Lakol Wicoun drawn
from that blade of grass,
even from that tiny ant
carrying its burden,
it is in the memory of the
buffalo, the elk, coyote,
the eagle and the bear
yes, even the butterfly
it is in our laws, unwritten
given by Unci Maka,
from the stars and
from the pull of the moon
it lives in the mountains,
the prairies and in the water
it rides on each snowflake
and in the shadow of our language
it is the center, our center
where sin, guilt and
redemption do not own us
Takoja, remember to return
to that center
honor the silence
where the life force
whispers in the wind
and tells
the story of our people.”
Originally published in Lydia Whirlwind Soldier’s poetry collectiion, Memory Songs. Lydia Whirlwind Soldier is a Sicanga Lakota, born in Bad Nation on the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. The poem is reprinted in Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems, edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R. Wilson. A note on the poem, copied from Poetry of Presence: “Lakol Wicoun is the Lakota way of life. It means living one’s life in the best possible way, every day. Traditionally, Lakota elders teach every Takoja, grandchild, how to live in this manner, respecting the laws of Unci Maka, Grandmother Earth.”
Photo of Red-Tail Hawk by Tyler Jamieson Moulton on Unsplash
