biidaaban

he texts me
                  egwa mooka’am 
                 gaandoo-waabandaamin

really zhagaanash says
                  come watch the
                 sunrise with me

giizis peers
                 over gichigami
                 over nanabijou

the fog of our breath
like the mist on the lake

he brings coffee the way i like
avocado egg toast sandwiches

i offer sage from last summer
gifts of cedar

he prays to a foreign god 
                  a miserable manidoo
                  a colonial divinity

i lead him to the shore
offer asemaa
                 to him
                 to the lake

gichigami looks me dead in the eye
whispers

                    gaawiin aweti ininiwish

gichigami means it

                    not this fucking dude