Two Tongues - Mariee Sioux

Can you tell us the place where the elders chew

the sky soft?

The place where love is like a perfectly

quelled arrow flown from bows of pure willow

And under the thundering roll of ghost buffalo

Can’t you hear the world’s heart breaking?

For it’s a test of courage to kiss the snake tongued

people, the fork tongued people

Yes, it’s a test of courage to kiss the snake tongued

people, the fork tongued people

'Cause it’s like two tongues at one time

It’s like two tongues at one time

It’s like two tongues at one time

Like bitter spirits and sweet wine

Like two tongues at one time, at one time

So pour all of your souls like magma into the caverns

Pour all of your souls like magma into the caverns

Pour them all for the hauntings

Pour them all for the hauntings

Cool down for the hauntings and harden for the

hauntings

Now granite soul you’re a haunter

A haunter hunting the children of the wild plains

Now granite soul you’re a haunter

A haunter hunting the children of the wild plains

And if my great-great-great-great-great-great

grandma could find them

She would put all of their poisoned

All of their poisoned, poisoned teeth

In her medicine bag, in her medicine bag

She’d make a graph of our death beat

Pulse, murmur, quiet… pulse, murmur, quiet…

Like hiding pheasants in tall grass

Now there’re faces in the rocks and they’re

coming on strong

Faces in the rocks with medicine tongues

Faces in the rocks, feels like a million to one

Woman and man in the moon with a cradleboard son

Braided 'round close 'till all warmth is gone, gone

So here take these blankets, here take these blankets

They’re woven from the hair of the dead

With the hair from your sisters, hair from your brothers,

Hair from your lovers, hair from the beavers,

hair from the otters

The hair from your mothers, hair from your father

Hair from your lovers, hair from the beavers, hair from

the otters

And we, we saw through you

Like a candle through a buffalo’s eye

And we, we stood by you

Like a mama bear shot with her cubs at her side

And we, we saw through you

Like a candle through a buffalo’s eye