Page 138 - Dark Matter:Women Witnessing Issue #3 - December 2015
P. 138
Where tarantulas tell us
when to go to Gorgonio
Where stones are alive
because they used to be people
Where people can turn
into anything
Where shamans exhale
to send their words skyward
Where Coyote races Rabbit
across the Milky Way
Where a spider web holds
the earth together
Where the world’s spinning
keeps our hearts beating
Notes:
I moved to the Mojave Desert in 2008. The most vital spiritual guide I’ve found to living in
this region is Wayta’ Yawa’: Always Believe, a book of reminiscences by Serrano Indian
elder Dorothy Ramon. This poem cites many stories told by her. According to traditional
Serrano culture, their ancestors chose to come here from another planet; in addition,
their ancestors were asked, and agreed, to become every visible thing in this world.
Not surprisingly, interspecies communication was the norm. Medicinal plants spoke and
revealed themselves to the people who needed them; tarantulas told people when pine
nuts were ripe on Mt. San Gorgonio, many miles distant, so the annual harvest could
take place at the right time. Songs contained maps of the desert, and songs also guided
the dead back to their planet of origin—the words “Their eyes open/to see a bright
future” are from one of those songs.
These stories offer expanded ways of looking at life in the desert. They affirm our
connection to everything in the landscape and to the people who preceded us—who
thrived here for millennia and whose lives touch ours through Dorothy Ramon.
More often than not, the desert is feared and hated—and now, regarded as disposable,
as massive solar farms are built and scant water resources are diverted to cities. The
common belief is it doesn’t matter—“there’s nothing out there.” In fact, deserts are
incredibly rich and complex ecosystems, teeming with unique species that contribute to
the well-being of the planet.
