I Am the River of Ruby Red

I Am the River of Ruby Red

By

Stephanie M. Wiant

My pulse streams through me

carrying the thickening of my Native Mother

She is the hollow in the tree

that sprouted my seed

cleansing the water for a wading invitation of reckoning

I am Her

She is me

My limbs grow long along the creeks

shaping the stories that rush towards deeper waters

How do I find the breath of life

when I am sinking from the shore

The river bends

leaving minerals of my own story

for others to find

I am Her

She is me

Her heartbeat restores my existence

I touch my wrist

She is there

The engulfing river of Ruby Red air

I am the Mother River

The Ruby Red River

Daughter of passion

Sun of direction

Unraveling truth in every pond

asking fiercely to be born again

I am Her

She is me

My blood trickles rainbows

Two-Spirit in one

Colorful to taste

Casting the rain for one

My cup runneth over

Filling the gaps throughout the stream

River of Ruby Red

Spring forth the well of truth

For now I claim

The everlasting waterfall of my destiny

The drought is done

I shall thirst no more