"X" MARKS THE SPOT
Once, in Hawaii,
Ten years ago and more
I helped to carve a Native Sweat
Out of the rock of old volcano flows
North was a hole
To hold the willow poles
And to the south and west and east
Every pole had its own hole
Sacred four directions
And, in the center, a hole for the rocks
You put them in glowing hot
and cover the poles with canvas or lots of cloth
Tobacco ties of different colors
Represent the prayers of all of our fellows
We chose a place
With a natural face
Where two fault lines crossed
To mark an "X"
While the man chipped away
With chisel and hammer
To make the place where the rocks would go
I cleaned out the "X"
To help the water drain in a natural flow
Following along the line
That led from the "x"
to the volcano's southern flanks
First the fault line changed
To make an "E"
Like a jagged "Z"
Then a small "v"
Was revealed to me
Next came an "o"
Then an "L" began to show
The top of the "L"
toward volcano did point
Right back in line with the "X"
And I stopped right there
My mind "out of joint"
With the message from Mother Earth
Herself had carved this message in the fault
I felt myself rejoicing
And after that, I had no Doubt!
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