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A WORD ABOUT THE SLEEP-MAN
by Paul Pines
I read my daughter stories
the Otoe
told their children
to prepare them for the Sleep Man
explaining how
coyote became a thief
little white rabbit got pink eyes
details she will need
to find her way through the landscape
of her life
I am like every father who
tries to explain the seven stars
in the Big Dipper
are also
seven clans
(to which she is related)
seven angels
seven spirits
who will advise her in distress
comfort her in mourning
join her in celebration
seven eyes
that look back in time
to the place of first things
where horse and buffalo
racing to determine who was fastest
left a trail of dust that became
the Milky Way
seven kisses
that wait for her in heaven
where all events are marked
before they are recorded