Tag Archives: native american

Talking Political Writing, Post-Pandemic Arts, and Finding Home with R.M. Engelhardt

*An Interview With Thom Francis of The Hudson Valley Writers Guild.

https://www.mediasanctuary.org/stories/2022/talking-political-writing-post-pandemic-arts-and-finding-home-with-r-m-engelhardt/

R.M. Engelhardt started sharing his poetry at local open mics in the early-90s and has since been a driving force in keeping the poetry and spoken word alive and well in the area. He has hosted a number of readings and events over the years and continues to welcome writers new and old to the stage.In this clip, Engelhardt reads “DeGeneration” at the Borders Open Mic on January 25, 1995. This poem was recorded for the CD, “Volume: A Compilation of Poets, Live”, produced by Mary Panza and Steve Clark chronicling the poetry scene at the time at such venues as the QE2, Margarita’s, and Borders.We talk about political poetry, what the arts community looks like in a post-pandemic world, and how he landed at Lark Hall for his monthly open mic.

Talking Political Writing, Post-Pandemic Arts, and Finding Home with R.M. Engelhardt

FOR THE ANIMALS, A Poem By R.M. Engelhardt

FOR THE ANIMALS

Why does the world at night not see you?

In the fields and in the moon’s light?

Gentle, and taken away from these forests

And separated from others of your kind

Why does the world at night not see you?

Or even in the daylight care about your existence?

I will give you food in the harsh months cold
And without mercy, become the caretaker
And the sacred voice, protect you like you were my own, my kind

Undomesticated & unrecognized by the less
Intelligent creatures in machines
Who do not recognize your beauty and lives

Why does the world not see you?

Protect you?

Because they are selfish and sometimes blind
Lost in a world of their own making

Cruel
And sad

The wind whispers to them and in their hearts
They feel nothing

This is the way

This is the loss of what is all holy
And all that once shined upon us
In it’s own relevance & awe

The cars rush by as time moves swiftly

The roads & highways the divisions,
Graveyards

Where all the dead & bodies lay

Where the night air frees your soul
To another place

Wakan Tanka

~ R.M. Engelhardt©2022

Myth & The Dark Road

C__Data_Users_DefApps_AppData_INTERNETEXPLORER_Temp_Saved Images_tumblr_otvtphZskG1udc5yco1_250.jpg“In older myths, the dark road leads downward into the Underworld, where Persephone is carried off by Hades, much against her will, while Ishtar descends of her own accord to beat at the gates of Hell. This road of darkness lies to the West, according to Native American myth, and each of us must travel it at some point in our lives. The western road is one of trials, ordeals, disasters and abrupt life changes — yet a road to be honored, nevertheless, as the road on which wisdom is gained. James Hillman, whose theory of ‘archetypal psychology’ draws extensively on Greco–Roman myth, echoes this belief when he argues that darkness is vital at certain periods of life, questioning our modern tendency to equate mental health with happiness. It is in the Underworld, he reminds us, that seeds germinate and prepare for spring. Myths of descent and rebirth connect the soul’s cycles to those of nature.”

~  Terri Windling

On Myth …

nativeamericanzodiac

“In older myths, the dark road leads downward into the Underworld, where Persephone is carried off by Hades, much against her will, while Ishtar descends of her own accord to beat at the gates of Hell. This road of darkness lies to the West, according to Native American myth, and each of us must travel it at some point in our lives. The western road is one of trials, ordeals, disasters and abrupt life changes — yet a road to be honored, nevertheless, as the road on which wisdom is gained. James Hillman, whose theory of ‘archetypal psychology’ draws extensively on Greco–Roman myth, echoes this belief when he argues that darkness is vital at certain periods of life, questioning our modern tendency to equate mental health with happiness. It is in the Underworld, he reminds us, that seeds germinate and prepare for spring. Myths of descent and rebirth connect the soul’s cycles to those of nature.”

~ Terri Windling