Shalako Mana

She turns to the West
On her own wherever
She is placed
Spirit of the Winter
Solstice a snow crystal
At the base of her garment
She has lost one of her seven 
Headdress feathers
She has gotten used for now
To our home in the East
She is a Hopi Kachina
Shalako Mana
Singular unpaired self reliant
Making herself known as
December and days of rain
Darken the sky
We met one winter years
Ago in the Southwest
There was snow in drifts
As I drifted toward her
Shelf where she stood among
Hopi figures and Zuni pottery
Her black bangs and tan pelt
Cape her snowflake
Awakened in me empathy
A kindred spirit
She patiently every winter
Conjures from me the urge
To go to the Western Lands

Jack 12-5-13