~ Anagalisgi ~
Look to the West when dark clouds gather
And the racing wind runs before stormy weather
Tossing the Sacred Cedars' branches,
Making leaves whirl in frantic dances.
Soon He will appear, son of Thunder and Cherokee maid.
Shouts of His brothers, the Young Thunders, slowly fade.
Nature pauses in breathless hesitation.
Birds and four legs fall silent with anticipation.
Suddenly, He is here, stepping over mountains tall
Lighting the clouds from their somber pall
With white fire blooming from either hand,
Casting a brilliant glow over all the land.
The earth trembles at His hard pounding feet
And the rumble of His game wheel so very fleet
Rolls across the meadows and the soft green hill
Where the tsalagi watch in wonder still.
What can match the glory of His terrible beauty
That pierces the eyes and lingers in clarity ?
What can withstand His fury and awesome power
That torches the aspen and splits the rock's bower ?
He is anagalisgi, The Lightning, the Red Man of the Cherokees
With a rattlesnake necklace and copperheads on His knees.
He is the bringer of Sacred Fire to the Tribal Home
And victor over the demon Brass where ever he may roam.
He is the handsome youth that will never die
Standing proud and tall in a darkened sky
While around Him the thunders break and roll.
Anagalisgi --- flashing symbol of the Cherokee soul.
by Dragonfly
© 2004 used with permission
