Morning Prayer

Sun climbs into the sky with a baby
On his back. He wants to show his daughter
The creation story, how all the colors of dawn
Become humans, plants, animals and winds.
There is nothing quite like this light anywhere else
In the universe he tells her.
Earth is one of the most beautiful beings yet much suffering
Is brought to bare here.
As the sun lifts up on his elbows to peer over the edge, all the plants turn in
 their direction and lift up their heads and drink the light.
The birds sing and talk of plans and shake night from their feathers. They
bathe in the new sun.
Animals stretch and breathe in light. They begin moving about for food.
Most humans wake to alarms, music or talk shows.
They jump into their mind cars and start speeding away
Into a world in which the sun with his daughter on his back
Is only a battery, a phenomenon, or a myth.
One human sends a song in the shape and smell of gratitude.
It is a flower, a peacock or turquoise colored lake.
Sun’s daughter laughs and claps her hands.

Joy Harjo February 1, 2013 Mvskoke Nation