Nierika for the Vernal Equinox

by Rafael Jesús González

These crystals
   (the Huicholes say)
      (are the souls of shamans—

the tight-rope walkerslovers of the edges of razors,
      an abyss of light on one hand
      an abyss of darkness on the other.

Weave your laughter
with the grasses
as they glint in the sun;
      between your two hands
      is the region of colors.

We are called to this celebration
between the yes & the no
   for the dance
   on the tug of the heart,
for the song
on the thrum of the nerve.