Here First

My ancestors were here first.

They were always thinking about me, and

who I was going to be.

They didn’t even know who I was yet but they always knew

that someday I would exist.

My ancestors knew I would be alone,

and they blessed me up with a tongue

that could speak the language that came from the land.

That way, mired in blue loneliness,

I would still know how to speak to the earth.

It was a process, getting these gifts through my thick skull,

but they never stopped trying.

My ancestors knew that

I would be stubborn and headstrong.

I am moved by how strong and resilient they were,

and how they gifted me with those traits as well.

Their lives were difficult,

so they paved the way for mine to be a little less rocky.

My ancestors knew I would love stories,

they made sure I had plenty swarming around in my head,

like a hive full of busy bees.

My ancestors gave me the summers, the winters,

The falls and the springs;

they gave me days of piercing

azure skies with splotches of white clouds,

and nights of scintillating black

with a spray of glittery stars…

I wonder how the sky looked to them…

Did they watch it change as I do?

I wish I could know life through their eyes.

Mine are too privileged; sometimes I miss obvious things.

My ancestors filled me full of love

from the moment I emerged from my mother’s womb,

they tried to swell me with confidence.

I admit, sometimes it faltered,

but I have learned.

My ancestors knew I would need a friend during my challenges,

they gave me an imagination that won’t quit.

They gave me a x̌əč full of music,

my spirit songs are like family.

My ancestors gave me appreciation,

so that I could see nature and be inspired;

so that I could see life beyond the physical.

These feelings are a pink sunrise; such beauty.

And on days where I am weak,

I can feel the hands of a hundred ancestors on my shoulder,

Giving me strength and

encouraging me to go on.

They come to me in dreams

to let me know they are proud,

and that I am walking the right path.

They let me know that we came from the stars,

we tended the land,

and we egressed into the Salish sea to become

killer whales and with their last breath,

they sent me a thousand spirit songs

that will sing me into the spirit world, when the time is right.