the end of a life

herbs and feathers and sage
stones and chocolate and rose water,
these are the things i know to gather
to bring as offering

and sometimes these
are all we have,
to hold onto
to hold us
in the ever-shifting chaos
of an ever-tilting planet,
they remind us

it's not the objects
themselves, really
it's the meaning with which we infuse them
the external reminder of the sacred within
of what we are connected to
of what holds us, and surrounds us, and supports us,
all the time

querida, i will come
bearing basket
with a cracked open heart,
with feet rooted in the earth,
y llegamos otra vez
to lay our lives down
on the altar
porque sabemos que la vida es una oracion-
una bendicion,
un milagro, regalo, misterioso
lo sabemos,
aunque olvidamos
and we will howl and dance
and whatever else it takes,
we will have faith
like the sun, setting to rise
dying, to live again.