“What’s Your Indian Name?”
It has to do with full moments
of mountains, deserts, sun, gods
song, completeness.
It has to do with stories, legends
full of heroes and traveling.
It has to do with rebirth and growing
and being strong and seeing.
You see it’s like this (the movement):
go to the water
and gather the straight willow stems
bring them home
work carefully at forming them
tie on the feathers
paint them with the earth
feed them and talk with them
pray.
You see, son the eagle is a whole person
the way it lives; it means it has to do
with paying attention to where it is,
not the center of the earth especially
but part of it, one part among all parts,
and that’s only the beginning.
Simon Ortiz
From Woven Stone, Four Poems for a Child Son
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