This is WordsFest weekend. Very busy but I did manage to write a short piece to celebrate my experience.
Experience of WordsFest 2017
Kwe kwe
this land, this land
on which we stand
honoured for decades of centuries
historified with just two short paragraphs
in a back wall, hidden, not truly celebrated.
I hang my head, apologize
to Mother Earth who gives me life
I am
Kontiwennenhá:wi (in English, Carries Words),
Haudenosaunee, (you might say, Iroquois)
Kahniakehaka kwe, (you might say, Mohawk woman – just never call me “squaw”),
A’no’:wara (you might say, Turtle Clan)
out of Tyendeniga (not the Township in Eastern Ontario)
Though you don’t notice me
I am —
the Em dash a nod to Emily
But wait…
I am
factory whistles
soft brk brk of chickens
joyous gospel choirs
I am
Hulda’s song
rolling waves
cormorant cries
the hint of an Acadian accent
I am
lowing of cows coming home each evening
rustle of wildflowers
hum of bees in a September apple orchard
I am
heart beat rhythm of water drums
crackle of real sugar on snow each spring
wagon wheels rolling to a place unknown
I am
glacial wind
thundering wave
muted weeping of stunted trees
Gaelic hymns
I am
a cacophony of mysterious music
love songs in many languages
enveloped in the lullaby of every ancestor
this melody – my DNA
I hear your words
spoken
sung
written down and signed
so I can carry them home…
And now I am wordified.
Automagically
I am refreshed, renewed, rewired.
Redo!
Encore!
Deep bow of gratitude,
Nia:wen for reading this.
Love it a LOT, SS! Will be murmuring it, saying it, chanting it a time or ten over the next week or so — deeply evocative in every phrase, image, pulsebeat. Thank you.
Oh thank you so much, Kit! Glad you enjoyed it.