You Heal Me With Your Presence

I love you like I love my grandmother’s hands. like I love dirt roads under starlight. like I love water on sweat lodge rocks. like I love the first sprouts of corn seed.

You make me happy like aunties laughing on the porch. like crispy fry bread on a July afternoon. like her smile flashing when she forgets to be shy. like a basketball swishing in the net.

You heal me with your presence like sweetgrass smoke. with your dedication like a buffalo robe to lay on. with your love like the light of dawn. with your protection like a Ponderosa standing strong.

Your words are chokecherry juice.

Your touch is buckskin.

Your mind is corn pollen.

Your body is bear root.

You hold me like you hold an eagle feather. This is why I’ll love you forever.