Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth Read Free

cook.
    Like some periods of Life
It works better
Upside down
He said.
    And indeed
I realized
Enjoying
Him
At last
It had already
Worked
On me.

Whiter Than Bone
    Last night
I dreamed
I was in
A fine
New house
Whiter than bone inside
With tall
Blue windows
Etched
In ancient
Art
    I had forgotten
I was supposed
To be
Somewhere else
Speaking to a band
Of musicians
Whose name
I couldn’t
Pronounce.
    Lucky for me
A woman
Appeared
Who kept track
Of such things.
Off I went
To do my
Duty
Passing
Water spirits
Holding
Dog-face
Boys
On the way.
    The woman
Who keeps track
Stopped to chat.
I noticed
The thick
Hair on
One little face
Was starting
To lift.
    I saw that
I am passing
Out of a life
That kept me covered
& leaving it
With
The one who keeps track
To hold.

Even When I Walked Away
    i
    There were odd
New flowers
In a vase
Beside the door
The door
To my strange
New underground
There in the
Semi-dark
They sparkled
Like
Blue
Jewels.
    Even when I
Walked away
Explored other
Rooms of
The new and spacious house
They beckoned me.
    Come, they said
We are strange
We are new
We did not grow
Overnight
Although it is
Just now
That you see
Us
And we are yours.

Red Petals Sticking Out
    ii
    I could not accept
That such strange
Enchanting blossoms
Belonged to me.
Wearing my loosest coat
I snuck into my own
Dim foyer
And stole
A portion
Of the generous
Bouquet.
Sneaking it
Through the street
Concealed but poorly
Against my chest
Red petals
Sticking out
I came upon my other
Doors.

Inside My Rooms
    iii
    Inside my rooms
I began to mix them
With the flowers
I already had
The too familiar
Snapdragon
The overly sniffed
Daffodil
The hollyhock
Ho-hum.
    A woman who
Did not love
Herself
Passed by
As I shaped
This new
Bouquet.
She said: I’m leaving.
    I did not know
She was still
Inside my house.

Let Change Play God

Refrigerator Poems
    While visiting a friend I wrote these poems using words I found on magnets scattered across the front of her refrigerator.
    i
    Let
Change
Play
God.
    ii
    Morning
Storm
Essential
Worship
Listen.
    iii
    Cloud
Said
To flower
Rain.

Just at Dusk
    Just at dusk
I ventured out
Beyond my street
Two tawny cats
Waist high
Ran out to greet me
Or so I thought.
    Sticking out
My hand
To pat
The larger one
I looked into its
Eyes and saw it intended
To eat me up.
    Is this always
Where the lure
Of wildness
Leads?
    Blood on the trail
The hand of the seeker vanished
Down some “tame”
Creature’s throat?

The Moment I Saw Her
    The moment
I saw her
Looked upon
Her
Without
Fear
& to admire
Her many
Legs
& her beauty
Only
    In that
Moment
The
Entire
History
Of basket making
Was revealed
To me.
    The old ones
Would have
Studied
Her.
They would have
Started with
Reeds
In a circle
Like
Her body
& kept them
Going
From leg
To
Leg
Weaving in
& out
Until
They were done.
    I am connected
To all
Of this
By
My great
Grandmother’s Native
Name
Tallulah, i.e.,
Basket maker,
Which
Turning fifty
I began claiming
As
My own
As I claim
My kinswoman
Spider &
The brilliant
Ancestral
Body
Of
Her art.
    Let Change Play God

A Native Person Looks up from the Plate
    (Or, owning how we must look to a
person who has become our food)
    They are eating
Us.
To step out of our doors
Is to feel
Their teeth
On our throats.
    They are gobbling
Up our
Lands
Our waters
Our weavings
& our artifacts.
    They are nibbling
At the noses
Of
Our canoes
& moccasins.
    They drink our oil
Like cocktails
& lick down
Our jewelry
Like icicles.
They are siphoning
Our songs.
    They are devouring
Us.
We brown, black,
Red, and yellow
Unruly
white
Morsels
Creating Life
Until we die:
Spread out in the chilling sun
That is
Their plate.
    They are eating
Us raw
Without sauce.
    Everywhere we
Have been
We are no more.
Everywhere we are
Going
They do not want.
They are eating
Us whole.
The glint of their
Teeth
The light
That beckons
Us to table
Where only they
Will dine.
    They are devouring
Us.
Our histories.
Our heroes.
Our ancestors.
And all appetizing
Youngsters
To come.
    Where they