For love of friends

They could not and would not-
Understand the love we have
Free of burden -
It must be wrong -
They so proclaimed
A love so strong ----
Would burn to nothing

Love is soul,
Love is mind
Love is heart
And love -
Is ours - a circle - a friendship

Simple and true
Talk what you may
I know what you say -
And it's OK -
I know you don't understand
But that's why we take a stand -

Pigeon hole us, as you would-
We love being renegades
Living life unafraid
Life is not black and white
Life - living - is found in between
Those seemingly unexpected seams

I know you don't understand
But that's why we take our stand -
So welcome to the Rupununi -
Here - take my hand
Let me show you unburdened love.

Rupununi hearts' sadness

We sat atop Barra'Wat'Tao
My brother and I -
among the ancient petroglyphs
Savannah stretched before
Mountains rose gently to meet the sky
Winding bends of Savannah creeks -
Their curves hugged by Ite palms

Wind danced across the savannah land
As the setting sun kissed all in its range
Rupununi has colours of earth -
Brown, green, blue, orange - blending slow
A sadness came - he looked at me and asked
"What do you see when you look out there?"

Brother - I see a freedom like no other
I see a cowboy following cattle
Egrets following cowboys
I see a savannah hawk swirling in the wind
Brother - I see a land where I buried my heart

"Do you know what they see?"
Parceled land - packaged and sold
Controlled - Cold
Dug - Forced - Abandoned
Fields of mono crop
Signs of "Private Property and no Trespassing"
A different life -
Not one what we understand

Sun dipped behind Shiriri
I listened to the sounds of early evening
We lucky few -
Love a land with no expectation
We lucky few -
Love a land free of agenda

A sadness creeps, like the Rupununi night
Silence grips my heart -

Earth Beat

The earth urged - listen to my beat
Match my rhythm to your feet
Like wind gently dancing with Savannah grass

The wind whispered fly -
Her heart whispered - be free
The tree told her of roots -
Deep - Powerful - Strong
Her feet told her stand
Catch the wind and dance
The stars talked of foreign lands
Her eyes talked of ancient memories
The rivers sang of endless time
Her blood sang of kindled passion
The Sun spoke of kissing mountain peaks
She spoke of living a thousand lives