Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England

William Donehey

608 William Donehey (b. 1955) Bill Donehey grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, during the turbulent 1960s. After completing his three-year commitment to the U.S. Army in the early 1970s, Donehey drove across the country solo, writing and reading his works along the way at small-town gathering spaces and big-city open mikes. Donehey is well known as a writer at Mohegan, having been published locally, in addition to publishing pieces in Writers Digest, Poetry.com, and other outlets. He published a chapbook in 1977, Whispers in Silence: The Interior Documentum, using what he calls parallax poetry—interlinking poems that tell one story of his life and the memorable people of the street and high society that he has met. Now living in southeastern Connecticut, Donehey works for Mohegan Sun, the secondlargest casino in the world, teaching and conducting seminars in process and performance improvement. He has contributed the following poems from his personal collections. River Set your heart upon a river Let it float to places it’s never been Don’t cheat yourself of feelings never felt Draw again From the hand you’ve been dealt The source of pride That wells inside Denies Thoughts materialized Two hearts collide From the remains you decide Is it love or Just filling the void inside William Donehey 609 His Lover Street man walks with hurried pace Sunken eyes within a weathered face Seeking solitude to engage in lovers’ embrace Caressing the bottle, kisses he tastes His partner lies empty, beside him she waits To be disposed of Tossed in regretful haste Discarded among collected waste How many dreams has she chased? The streets fill with the warmth of the day Crosswalks make for his daily pay Ambling from car to car Hand extended Spare change for food, maybe a candy bar The light changes; the traffic must heed Young man offers some sweet-smellin’ weed Street man refuses, “That I don’t need” Coins in the pocket, enough by now He can tell by the weight And thanks them all with a bow Street man walks with hurried pace Anticipating eyes within a weathered face To encounter another lover’s embrace; for her kisses he waits Spirit Teacher When I feel my heart beat Within these silent walls Echoing Echoing Lullabied to sleep You come and fill my dreams Awakening my spirit to walk the night 610 mohegan Gathering stars, bathing in moonlight Free as never before Will this time end Can we pass through dream’s open door Walk with me That we may grow Walk with me There are so many things I wish to know Freedom As you stood on the edge of a feather Expecting to fly I stood alone wondering if I should wave goodbye Or if I should run to a mountain top To try and touch you as you go by Where will you go . . . What will you see . . . Who will you be . . . When you arrive and knock upon Freedom’s door Keeper of dreams and visions now yours Freedom reveals what they said, “Two spirits within you reside One Jekyll, one Hyde” Truth is, you reflect their darkness Deep inside. Lessons taught to me, bands playing in my head I can only give what you ask for Nothing less, nothing more It’s your dance Take the floor Lift your feet up off the ground It’s time to soar William Donehey 611 Thoughts of yesterday Future to come Freedom’s words A new song to be sung The Course of Love Don’t think you can direct the course of love For love If it finds you worthy Directs your course Sparrow I journeyed to the land where the sparrow is king Across mountains whose peaks Grasp a sea of clouds in marriage The halo for a king My journey became one of torment Saved by the sparrow, to rest upon her wing She told of another life where people talk of wisdom And how children still laughed, still would sing We traveled many miles through canyons Across deserts finally to the sea The sparrow became my friend Through the lessons she sang to me She taught me the beauty of art Through the eyes of wonder Taught me of courage With a voice of thunder Laughter from a broken heart When morning came I rose from my bed The silence of dawn crashing [3.17.150...