Medicine Man showed up

In my dream

To give me a rust colored leather satchel.

It was made of soft sturdy elk hide

And had a nice long shoulder strap.

"It's beautiful," I said.

I pulled it to my face to smell it.

I nuzzled the felty side of it.

It felt like a horse's nose.

"I love it," I said. "Thank you."

My eyes met his and we stared into one another

For one rare moment

Before he looked down at the satchel and said,

"There are gifts inside,"

And then he turned, as swiftly and out of nowhere

As he had appeared, and like an eddy of leaves

In a swirling fall wind, he mounted his Appaloosa

Bareback, and pulled her around by the mane

And trotted off and disappeared 

Between the trees by the creekbend.

I hurried to unlatch both the buckles

To see the gifts inside the satchel.

But there was only a large piece 

Of thin, yellowed parchment rolled up in there.

And when I unrolled it, I could see

Four names written down in bold waxy black,

And one of them was mine.

--------

Medicine Man comes to take me with him.

He says I am running circles,

Like a caged animal or one that is injured.

He takes his finger and draws an arrow in the sand.

"Come with me and I will heal you,"

The Medicine Man says softly

And offers me his hand.

It's the first time I've ever touched him,

Even in my dreams,

But I reach out and take his hand like the child I am.

And now I know 

That he is real.

And I am going with him

As far as he will go with me.

-----

Medicine Man led me to the woods

And held my hand all along the way.

We followed a deer path to a creek,

And I could see that it was magic.

We followed down, walking along the bank,

And sometimes splashing through the water,

Until we came to a clearing,

And just beyond that,

The place where several creeks gathered

Into a clear lake.

Medicine Man dropped my hand

And began to take his clothing off.

It was like something that he had to do.

He started down to the waters edge,

Then turned, and told me to take my clothes off, too,

And come and join him

In the Pool of the Great Spirit's Tears.

-------

I felt a deep urge to join the Medicine Man.

I felt an undeniable urge

To strip naked and go and dip myself

In this great lake that he called

"The Pool of the Great Spirit'sTears."

I took all my clothing off

And walked down to the silver edge

Of the shining waters.

I stepped in and felt a thrilling tingle

Take hold of my toes.

A sweet grip caught my foot and ankle.

I went in deeper,

And the tingle continued up my leg.

I plunged in,

Diving all the way up under the water, head first,

And felt an electric sensation 

Pulsing thru my core

To every vein and corpuscle 

While every synapse of my brain

Fired all at once with quickness and renewal.

I came up for air and heard the Medicine Man's deep laughter.

"I see you like the healing powers

Of the waters here!"

We swam like otters together for a long time,

There in the shining waters,

And finally emerged, dripping wet

Back up on the beach's sand.

"Every hurt is caused by virus,"

The Medicine Man told me,

"And even aging is caused by viruses.

This water cures every sickness,

Every hurt, every virus that has ever existed.

The loving, living waters here are filled with silver and with eternal love,

And many other minerals and life giving principals.

This is the ancient spring they used to call the fountain of youth.

Many have searched for it

But it is hard to find."

The Medicine Man looked deep into my eyes, into my heart.

He smiled.

"You were ready for the healing waters, weren't you?

I know you felt the goodness and the love right away,

And you did not hesitate to immerse yourself.

That makes me happy," he said.

"It makes me happy, too," I mused.

-jenn