What the Muses Leave Behind

for Rochelle Start with story – thirty-eight + two  Hung before the rising sun Be precise. Learn every breath of it, tell it one hundred times. Hold the trauma of four, five generations,  Let it build gravity in your belly. Daily   Pray to your ancestors,  Thank them for the legacy that is you. Grow indifferent to racism and unkindness. Dance. Sing. Dance. Sing. Dance. Sing. Dance. Pray with your feet to find Inspiration for the dress:         how it comes together        how the body holds it  The healing that lives among the threads. Here is a story that needs a horse to ride. The dress is the horse; the dancer, the rider. Be patient for the dream that brings the dress to you. Remember what your grandfather said. Ride at dawn, ride at twilight.  Ride at dawn, ride at twilight.  Now gather two black Pendleton blankets – Red and yellow stripes along the edge. Gather two hundred and eighty pennies, a hank of red glass bead