Serenading the Ashes
A Poem by Nadia Michelle Rich
I baptize you with water for repentance. [He said.] But after me comes one who… will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” ~ Matthew 3:11 (NIV)
Fire fire walk with me Great Ancestors I honor you And remember I see the path You paved for me You are the path Your bones are the Stones beneath my feet Everywhere I roam In every direction I move The oceans of your love Pulse through the fire I breathe The ashes you left Are the clay that made me This I know I know I know With every breath I inhale the love You saved for me With each exhale I breathe the Truth The seed of you, the seed of me Great Grandmother nursed us all— The seeds she planted and The weeds that appeared Great Grandmother loved us equally Guided the entire family With her path of gentleness Great Grandmother respected the free will Of each seed and every weed’s Choice of direction to grow in Great Grandmother watered us With her tears of love To soothe our burns from The breath of fire we breathed At ourselves and each other, In anger, While still learning The power of the breath of fire In us Great Grandmother blanketed us During so many painful years While we sat in agony Scarred by fear Spooked by Our own breath Hiding from ourselves Living in darkness Prepared to freeze— Not I, Great Grandmother Queen, Your honor is The breath of fire I breathe With every breath I devote The fire in me to The ashes that made you who made me Fire fire walk with me I am the fire I am the breath of fire That gave birth to me I am the ashes of all Great Ancestors That came before me I am the breath Remembering Itself Singing the purity of love That lives in the ashes— Me I am the clay Made of you Who made me I am the potter; I am the pot I am the home for All ancestral seeds Fire fire walk with me Breathe life into the dream that I dream The dream that dreamt of me I am the wisdom Great Grandmother Planted in me I grow tall and strong I grow together with all my Sister and brother seeds I grow free with laughter I grow in beauty With the light Great Grandfather shines upon me Great Ancestral Ashes I am your love I am the love That your breath of fire Thought to breathe Remembering now to breathe again With every breath Serenading the ashes Of you who made me