Published in RED INK: International Journal of Indigenous Literature, Arts, & Humanities (Spring 2017).
Hunker down close to the Earth,
knees bent and thighs taut,
to speak without being heard:
she can catch your tired secrets,
she will keep and protect them,
bury them deep in her caves to sprout new life
like crystals gleaming on rough rock,
like blind salamanders in a dark puddle
long forgotten by the outside world.
Austin Eichelberger 