Ayuhwasi By John C. Mannone

            Cherokee word for large meadow

An ice wind blows
over the bones
of the Hiwassee River

and the ancient camps
—a staging area
before the great migration…

also for Sandhill cranes
—black snowflakes,
silhouettes,

hundreds of them,
thousands, wings
raised in prayer

as they fly over the trail
of tears; they shed
feathers. And respect

falls from heaven
like an ever gentle
wisp of mercy.

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At the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival, January 20, 2019:
Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and site of the Cherokee Indian
Removal Memorial and Museum. Birchwood, TN