Pollen Boy

I will walk on a pollen road. Pollen boy will go in front of me,
    and in back of me, and under me.
His words will I speak.  I will live like him
    and no harm will come to me.
— The words of First Man, from the Navajo Feather Chant.
Sweet-smelling Boy God
Who nourishes bees
From the lips of flowers.
Life-giving Boy God
Who scatters His substance
On the changing winds,
Letting chance decide
Where it will take root.
Laughing at the risk of failure
As you lap up the dew
Of the days ahead,
Kissing the morning dazzle
From the shining surface of earth.

How shall I hang back
When you grab at my hand,
Plunging along the path
Running forward, backward
Rapid every which way.
I never know
Where I may find you.
I never know
When you will whisper
That pollen should be sucked
Like the seed of men
From its silken shaft source.

from NAMBLA JOURNAL SEVEN (1987).

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