Closer Than It May Appear

Photo by Vicki Heschke

Crossing the prairies o’er old swirling seas
Cloudy and gray with fresh fallen snow.
Nested in green, in a wreath of pine trees,
A wondrous tower rises; its truth to know.

The seas long ago did slowly abate

Leaving flat land of grass and of rock.
Here Lakota camp where they migrate
As young girls sing to a swirling hawk.

Early rays of the warm spring sun

Bears do wake, each groggy in dens.
Distant sounds of girls having fun
Hunger surging, bears signal their friends.

The laughter rises; the bears start to chase

Turning to shrieks as the beasts come near.
A big rock ahead, tho’ now it’s a race
Closing the gap, turning laughter to fear. 

Clamber the rock; its safety girls seek
A circle is formed, clasped hands very tight.
Pray they must; the Great Spirit does speak
The ground starts to shake as day turns to night

Angry and clawing, bears growl and grumble

The rock, as it rises, now heard a fierce groan!
Yet climb as they might, down do they tumble
Leaving claw marks, deeply etched in the stone.

Prayers heard above, the bears now below

Girls sing and dance in a circle so high.
Thankful and radiant, their bodies do glow
Gleefully they dance on up to the sky.

As you visit this rock and view it so clear,
Look well above the dark distant trees
For the rock is closer than it may appear,
And the girls still dance as the Pleiades!

- Peter Hilger