as i walk across this mountain,
i am on sacred, on holy ground.

i feel their spirits rising within me,
the earth people whose

names we never really
had to learn in school —

tamyen, pomo, wintu.

so when i drink this wine,
i drink this earth, and all

those spirits dance
inside of me,

that woman part of me,
filling the universe

with songs and healing,
just as your love

dances in the very heart
of me,

in the very flesh
of me,

with grace, with passion,
and a beauty

that causes even old
coyote to run away

and hide his face
and deer

(ah, gentle deer!)
to weep.