This poem is written in free verse. It is lyrical. It came to me when traveling on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation some years ago. I was inspired by the cultural activity I witnessed there. It is about recovery of a tribal language and how impactful that is. It is like the ocean returning to a dry land. It changes everything.The poem references the Sun Dance and in that, the speaker is saying the restoration of language and culture is related to the prayers of the people. I was in writing this observational poem very aware that I was not writing in the context of my cultures and geography. I was writing a poem that I could check against my tribal cultural experience and find to be true, to be fair. The image of the buffalo swimming comes from a billboard I observed on that reservation.
