A Day of Research and Writing...

I've been spending the last few hours listening to an audio book I checked out from the library called Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt.  I'm currently listening to the fifth CD out of six, and each has been one hour long.  Black Elk (1863-1950, pictured below) was a Lakota Sioux medicine man/holy man who talks in Black Elk Speaks about a vision he had about the Little Big Horn battle right before it happened, and in Chapter 20 talks about his experience in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show among other stories.

I knew his name sounded familiar when I first heard it, so when I read on his Wikipedia page about him being part of Buffalo Bill's show, my reaction was "Oh, that's him.  That's where I know his name from." because I've been raised on stories of Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill, and used to fantasize as a child that I was in the show with Annie Oakley.

Black Elk's Biography at Wikipedia

I'm interested in his story because he came from a long line of Shaman and the characters in my story titled "Magic In Their Blood" are supposed to be related to Shaman as well.  I have made a few notes while listening to Black Elk Speaks that include the description and meaning of a sacred ornament Holy Men in his tribe use, and the description and meaning of different elements to a peace pipe.  I've also noted a couple quotes from Black Elk that I might start the book with about the importance of keeping Native stories alive, and teaching the next generation through the stories that would survive after he's gone.  He also talks a lot about his second cousin, Crazy Horse, and shares that Crazy Horse was the first Chief they had in the family.

I also have another library book I have yet to crack open called The Secrets of Native American Herbal Remedies: A Comprehensive Guide to the Native American Tradition of Using Herbs and the Mind/Body/Spirit Connection for Improving Health and Well-Being I'll be reading to get an idea of the different herbs a Medicine Man would use for different ailments.  Again, solely for the purpose of writing "Magic In Their Blood."

I took some time out of my day earlier to write a couple more poems as well.  One poem is about Pearl Harbor, and written to commemorate the 70th anniversary of that day:

Pearl Harbor Day

In the midst of another war,

dawn breaks on a day like no other before.

Seventy years ago today

a bombing started our involvement on a familiar shore.

We were hit at home

while we peacefully slept.

Now there are tomes

talking about a morning we'll never forget.

It's always them versus us,

and the merry-go-round starts again

as one-time friends and neighbors

are questioned about terrorism.

Will the cycle ever stop?

As long as there is sin in the world, it will not.

So we go on with our lives,

and wage wars until the Earth dies.

And here's my second poem on a different subject:

Unfriended

I didn't want to do it,

but you left me no other choice

when you told me that you miss me,

and I felt like I no longer had a voice.

Why did you insist your previous message was a lie?

You told me you couldn't break up with her,

and left me wondering why I even try.

You played me for a fool, and my heart cried.

So much for giving you a second chance

that I thought you were happy about.

I should've thought about it a little longer,

and never agreed to go back out.

Now you are unfriended once again

for the situation you put me in.

I should have known you couldn't be faithful,

and for my freedom since I've been grateful.

I still have yet to put my new poems into a document file, and have my new manuscript started.  Until then, I'll have them stored here until I have the time to copy and paste them into Word finally.

I am still also working on "The Shepherdess Princess," but I'm taking a small break from it because I'm having a hard time putting my next thoughts onto paper for it.  I'll keep you posted on any progress when it's made.