Where the Dragons Live

I live on the south side of a peninsula,
on the borders of society,
subtle changes from boulders to sand.
Witness the exchange of forces
between the tide and the moon,
follow the tracks of the wary animals
calling this place home,
mine so insignificant and
out of place
not abiding to the unspoken agreement between predator and prey,
more intruder than observer.
The boundary of this world and another collide
cannot only be seen; it can be felt.
The shore just beyond the trees,
boots crunch gravel then sink into sand
in the distance is the constant rhythm of waves
crashing against the ancient rock protruding from the water
too stubborn to sink like the rest.
I like to think it was the rock that mattered
its kin below
an agreed sacrifice to drown and
hold this one up for the surface to see.
If you’re lucky you can
listen to the sudden silence
at sunset
lost in your own personal fortress of solitude,
capsized in the tranquility,
bliss.
Walk for miles down this shifting shore,
kick pale drift wood,
taste the salt in the air,
where the dragons live.

Leoncio Amuia Bald Eagle is a first-year student in the environmental science program at Sitting Bull College. He descends from the Crazy Horse Band of Oglala Lakota in South Dakota and from the Polynesian Samoan Nonu family from the islands of Hawai’i. In his spare time, Bald Eagle enjoys practicing mixed martial arts, guitar, and creative writing. Self-enlightenment, tradition, and family are the most important aspects of his life. He is a proud father, fighter, and young Native American/Samoan.