Lynn Anderson

Snake Dance
digital photograph on canvas
16 x 24 in.

Dear Earth,

Listen to our prayer
Puffs of smoke from fires long ago
Drift thru skies of fractured broken dreams.
Faded beauty of our Mother, the sacred place of our birth
Drums sound the heartbeats of the earth
Black and pure soil nourishes hope.
Rain falling clean and clear
Feeds prairie grass waving in the wind Listens for thundering herds of bison.
Mighty eagles carry our prayers while
Fancy dancer swirls in rhythm with the earth
And villages of every tribe filled with Creator’s people
Live in balance with earth’s creatures
Preserving the ancestors ways Enduring and surviving.
After many years our people again began to rise
Dancing the snake dance to reunite our world of life
Working hand in hand to bring balance to our land
Welcoming solar, wind, and water.
Now is the time to sit and listen to the wind and the teacher’s voice within
Now, not tomorrow, is the time to change
Now, stand and pray together It has begun dear Mother Earth,
We ask Creator to give us strength and bless the work ahead.

Prayer by Joseph Standing Bear Schranz, Ojibwey
Director of Midwest SOARRING Foundation Lockport, IL.

© Lynn Anderson