Chad Hollingsworth Dreams

Dreams Chad Hollingsworth

Hopes hung with feathers as dreams float unfettered Protection leant and learned from the Ojibwe tribes of old

Spoken from an ancient tongue Civilizations low on timeline’s rung Our ancient history and her story of a grandmother’s love so bold

Though her reach was far and wide She was but one, so her people tried To capture evil’s harm and hurt from young and tender ones

They’d form a hoop of strong willow and through a process, painfully slow With nettle, they’d weave a web Praying ‘til their work was done

As evil would surround their sleep peaceful dreams under protection’s keep Safe and sound, the child would stay Tucked away from ghosts of dark

But as a child always grows older dreams somehow become much bolder Adapting, living in this world of woe But still, the night’s coyotes bark

But now, too grown for safety above Independence stretches a protector’s love The man half-heartedly sleeps with eyes Fixated, but no longer upon the door

And soon one man becomes a tribe Loss of fear becomes doom prophesied Until a nation becomes homeless heroes Forced to pinched camps between two shores This is the tale of a darkened past One now remembered in shadows cast But there are few, still steadfast and strong In keeping traditions so rich and true

And so, declares this outsider “Remember the prayers of Grandmother, who looked beyond and then began this blessing before me and you.”

Hold tight to sleep when peaceful But restrain yourself from senses dull Learn from the spider’s woven web And drift not far from its timeless truth

Imperative- this lesson before us all History forgotten precedes the fall Let us esteem our forgotten firsts And may our prayers rise like smoke as proof.