Discussion about this post

User's avatar
James Don BlueWolf's avatar

Sherman "Indian Fireworks" Another great one--so here's a July 4th one from my latte' life...

A Gift of Choice

My eye, colorful New Mexico thunderhead.

My lip, swollen cloudburst, ready to scrub the Mesa.

Grandma packed my face with frozen meat,

sat with coffee and frybread--eager for the story.

Started when my nanikhvnachi* asked what the 4th of July (*teacher)

means to Indins.

Don't know why she picked me, from so many darker faces.

My sun-brown ain't the same as theirs―

a brown more earth than sky.

I said, "It's a day for Powwow, fireworks, Indin tacos

and staying up late."

"What about Independence? " she smiled.

"I wouldn't know about that."

Had to stay an extra hour, writing one hundred times,

"Indins are Americans too."

My cousins waited just to tell me I couldn't go with them to the Plateau,

said it was an ‘Indin’ place-- "white people shouldn't go there."

That got me going. They knew it would.

Fought all three, one at a time,

and lost.

"Grandma-- am I Indin or white?"

"How do you feel?"

"I feel Indin, but I look white."

Her willowy arms had the strength of oaks,

rough knuckles brushing away tears.

"It's a little of both, grandson. Creator colors us his own way,

You have heart, but your blood is thin.

It is the choice that separates you.

In this pale world you can hide from your heritage,

we cannot.

Darker cousins may never love you but over time they will accept

that arm across arm,

the power of choice and no choice--makes formidable brothers.

Stay with us, we will look out through each other’s eyes,

to see your children take their place around the drum.

Expand full comment
Dr. Joanie Tool's avatar

This is painfully beautiful. As truth always is.

Expand full comment
81 more comments...

No posts