Inner Warrior

When I was little,

I found a piece

of scrap fake leopard fur

in a ditch

slightly visible under

a layer of melting spring ice

and thought

it was a warriors vest

sent to me from

the African gods

to give me strength.

I wore it everywhere

despite my mothers embarrassment

and coaxing

to please, not wear it in public!

It had magic and

in becoming "lion-hearted"

I rode imaginary zebras

and ran as fast as the cheetahs

to the power lines

which I called South Africa.

That was the beginning

of my inner native,

my African self

oddly, I knew everything

about the continent early on

the names and location

of each country and its capital

and what animals lived where

so in my blood

and heart

that African music

or just the word Africa

spoken out loud

makes me weepy.

What is it about a place

never actually visited that pulls

and calls our name?

Reincarnation, unspoken spirits?

Some unforgotten ancestral guidance?

A couple years ago,

I got my spots,

a tattoo on my ankle

my warriors' mark

and when I need a vest of strength

I pull out something with

animal print on it

for my warrior wear

and I walk with lions again!

Pam Piper Rain

Artwork by Pam Reinke