When the power went down

And the water wouldn’t run

That’s when we learned the meaning

Of conditional love;

My brothers, my mother,

Seven spirits, and me

Learned patience at the base

Of my Grandpapa’s tree.

We waited all day for the heat wave to break

We waited all day, while the babies just baked.

But when the transformer failed,

And the power went down,

And the water wouldn’t run…

There was joy to be found.

Because unconditional love

Lives at the base of a tree

Whose roots are steeped in blood.

Blood that runs through me.