A large bag of assorted beads
that a former neighbor, and native brother,
once described as “sadness,”
at a time when uncertainty
crowds my restless thoughts.

I spend several weeks
sorting through the mountain,
separating them by size and color,
removing bits of dried sage
and broken strands of old threads,
wondering from where had all come
and what they might have seen
along their journeys to this bag.

Inspired, I began to add new thread,
forming them into patterns and creations,
bold and alive,
praying as I carefully weave
long lost and forgotten
dream and visions into them,
like the beautiful kaleidoscope they lay before me,
turning discards into treasures
and sadness into newfound joy.