Star Stories, part 27: New Beginnings (A Love Poem)

Gichimanidoo-giizis (Great-Spirit Moon), January 13, 2023

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NEW BEGINNINGS

Do not fret niinimoshenh

Take my hand

The forest is never

As dense as it seems

Accept my hand

Let’s leave the backward path

And walk toward that sacred place

Where Earth and Sky meet

Our Mother and our Father

Never judge or hold grudges

They Dance In A Different Light

The warm light of New Beginnings

Let's fly with the Eagles and the Hawks

To that soundless world beyond the clouds

And lie down where the mighty river flows

Until our dreams become the Stars.

Take my hand...

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Boozhoo. The painting displayed above, which I finished not long ago, illustrates the story of two lifelong friends who dance and hold hands both in this life and the next.

Seven years back, I wrote the poem "New Beginnings" for a Canadian artist I loved dearly, who in the end, betrayed and caused me great pain. Despite this experience, I decided not to become jaded about love. Just because someone hasn't found the right person to share their heart with yet doesn't mean true love is just a fantasy. This belief kept me going and eventually brought the right person into my life.

I painted "Take My Hand" to honor this new love, or more precisely, to express my commitment to never give up on love.

However, it goes deeper. It starts with ourselves. We cannot truly open up to others until we first embrace self-love.

It goes beyond that. It transcends our earthly reality and experiences. Therefore, I dedicate the painting to my sister, Diane Badbear, who is mourning owiijiiwaaganan (her husband) who recently passed away to join his ancestors in the spirit world.

Keep holding his hand, nimis, no matter how distant he may seem at times.

Hope, comfort, inspiration, friendship, and our stories are the elements in life that ultimately pull us through.

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Poem: © 2016 - 2023 Zhaawano Giizhik

Illustration: Take My Hand (New Beginnings) © 2023 Zhaawano Giizhik