Intertribal Time

The emcee’s voice booms
“Come out and dance!”
“It’s intertribal time!”
Everyone is welcome
And we are all related.

Connected in the circle
The hoop of life
All nations come now
No longer spectators
Welcome for this moment
To share the arena.

Drums pound out songs
It’s impossible to miss
The connectedness
We share.

We are connected
Some by blood as ancient
As the rivers and the hills.
Some by marriage
Some by friendship
Some by divorce
And some by children.

Some of us
Are connected
By the dances
We have shared.

We are connected
By common experience,
By genetic memory,
By choice
And by circumstance.

We are connected
By common thoughts
By common goals
Some of us
Are connected
By adversity shared
And tears shed.

You can feel
The connection
You can sense
The single-mindedness
In the heartbeat of the drum
In the sound of bells and rattles
In the sway of fringe and feathers
In the smiles
In the laughter.

We are connected
If only
For the moment
By a thread of life
Unbroken
Through wars and poverty
Through outrage and pain
Through loss and hardship
Through the generations
Through technology
Through time itself.

The emcee’s voice booms
“Everyone come out and dance!”
And for a moment
Share the arena
With a people
Connected.