Profound Ohio Mound

[This writing was inspired by certain events in my life beginning in late October of 2008, coupled with some lucid dreams.  It seems to dovetail well with my current studies from 1491, Cahokia, and Living the Sky: The Cosmos of the American Indian.  I still work with the meaning of this insight, as it’s deep and profound; this writing was intended as a reminder and teacher.  I hope you find it useful.]

I sat atop old Indian mound

Corn stalks growing all around

Huge clouds hovered pink, profound

Wind picked up, made ancient sound

I craved to find meaning of it all

Called Great Spirit without having to crawl

Felt no use for white-eyes malls

Saw sky spit forth lightning balls

Wild wind whipped them into vortex-walls

I felt my spine stretch skyward-tall

As wondered what life was before The Fall

And asked skygod to show me all.

Clean rain bathed me in light-dance

Clouds-code sky was Holy Grail

Leaves and things were all a-sail

As bluster-winds became shout-gale

I deeply breathed so wouldn’t fail

My ardent search for Redpath Trail

I sat firm-fixed an hour more

As storm bore deep into my core

I prayed to see through secret door

That opened to a mystic shore

But no such vision did come-forth

I entered wind, and with it tore

free from my face, into my core,

Then slipped into symbolic 4

As wind-danced free on top of mound

Chief Manitou with me whirled-‘round

Skyscraper-tall he danced profound

As chanted my destiny that I’d never found

Brave-path he laid for me to follow

No more in human-ness was I to wallow

ONLY Honor-code must I now allow

And cease all action moral-hollow.

As sun set golden-red I woke

Felt fired by words Great Chief had spoke

Profound wind-dance had been no joke

New inner-glows of life he’d stoked

I groggy-rose and slow-returned to whence I’d come

Thought deeply ‘bout new name he’d given me with sacred drum

Long drive home gave me much time to think

I felt like child on edge of brand-new brink

Cool pristine waters of new PURPOSE I then had to drink

And NEVERMORE in rude-existence sink

I was astounded how much time elapsed

As I straight-sat on ancient mound enrapt

I knew new lifepath was now laid for me

Though no details I could yet clearly see

Only broad outlines of what was then to be

To follow Redpath Way to pull soul UP and FREE

Including study of the Signatures of all Mortality

And eschew Mammon-pulls to only money see

To honor VIRTUE-TRUTH (and not mere “honesty”).

My mortal mind was unprepared for that Great-Spirit talk

So felt afraid I was not worthy to do such upright walk

But – with return to normal world into which I now felt hurled

I chose hold-tight to what that vision had unfurled

As listened to car-roof being hail-and-raindrops whirled

And careful-drove back towards my humble home

While vowing that my soul I’d not again loose-roam

Decided to begin by this experience revealing

To all who might be similarly-Feeling

And freely-share with those who hungered for The Real 

That TRUTH-pursuit has naught to do with metaphysi-spiel 

But’s lifelong task to make (and eat) each day as spirit-diet meal 

And ARDENT-Seek to differentiate twixt Counterfeit and Real. 

As gratitude then through me flowed, 

I pulled car off to side of road, 

Got out, and humbly towards that Mound did kneel,

And saw the clouds above it slow-congeal

Into horizons-reaching Sacred Wheel.