by Kimberly L. Becker
First Books II, Summer 2011
THE CATCH
Back home, if home it is,
……I listen to CDs to keep my language up.
…………I let the Cherokee play
……………….in what at first is no more than
……………………..volley of vowel and verb.
…………………………….Finally I relax into the flow.
…………………………………..Even though most courses ahead
………………………………………….too fast for me to catch,
…………………………….some words stick and thrash.
……………………..I make of my mind a weir
……………….where words are caught
…………and held by current’s force
……until I can haul them up and out
for sustenance.
LANGUAGE CLASS
written on Qualla Boundary; for C.M.
Little by little
we are reclaming the words
Just as the land was once large,
so, too, our voice
Some words lost on the Trail
have been found
They lived hidden in baskets,
in pockets, in the very tassels of corn
(Selu, Selu)
Now the words live again
See? When I saw nogwo it is now,
both the now of then and the now
of not yet
The words work secret medicine
and strong, forming us
from the inside out
Langauge is our Magic Lake
we walk in limping with loss
and emerge wholly ourselves
When Cecilia speaks
she bears with her
the future of these sounds
Listen: her voice is soft, but sure
RIVER OF WORDS
written on the Qualla Boundary
Plunged in as we are, it’s cold
We sputter and gasp, reach for the shore of the sure
But the land speaks the old language,
……………………………..even the stones
The current is swift, with much power
Limbs heavy,
I feel myself starting to sink
when a hand reaches and holds, allowing me air, then releases
This time I’m ready
Don’t fight it: float
Let the water carry you far away downstream, where it runs fluid with fluency
Acclimate to the temperature, be bouyant with hope
I went to the water of language to be cleansed of conquering consonants
I went to be baptized into my true self ………I keep coming to water, over and over
Even now, as you speak, some of your spittle lands on my hand,
joining water to water, all of us part
WORD AS FISH
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread…Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast”…Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish
from the Gospel of John
Our teacher tells us: ask for the words you need.
Example: doadt cat? wesa
Doadt
the mouth of the [river] where the blood will answer?
shimmer of [silver] on rainbow scales?
as you slept, I drew [breath] from your depths?
[mountains] shawled with purple clouds?
Doadt
how in the violence of [love] you fell free of your knife?
behind the mask of your [fear] lies your true clan?
thunder and [lightning] together come close to the tumult of us?
the hook requires an open [mouth]?
Doadt
the [formula] for binding and release?
never more [hate] than where love withheld?
ducks [devoured] entrails and head?
our enemies are those who know our [secrets] best?
Doadt
[calling] your name in my sleep, I wake to your shape?
dance of [war] and desire?
smeared with [red] paint made from bear fat?
leap of resistance at moment of [capture]?
Doadt
when I dream of you, your [knife] is always at my life?
my mouth [waters] for a taste?
Doadt
woodsmoke of your [skin]; smell of smoking fish?
clay poet held in shape by [fire] alone, blackened by sorrow?
Doadt
the price of intimacy is the stress of the [bead] on the cloth?
Somewhere I have the words to tell you who I am
They’re stuck in my throat, lodged in my blood
Here: draw them out, fish on fish, from that deep place
Feed me as you did before, for I am hungry now: agiyosiha
WordTech Editions publishes poetry books that explore human experience in light of social, political, historical, or natural contexts. Poems reprinted by permission.
Kimberly L. Becker is the author of Words Facing East (WordTech Editions, 2011). She is a member of the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, and is of Cherokee and European descent. She is currently adapting Cherokee myths into plays for the Cherokee Youth in Radio Project. She is the recipient of grants from the MD State Arts Council, and the Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council, and a fellowship from the Hambidge Center for the Arts. Becker was a featured reader for "Native Writers in DC" at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. To read more by this author: Kimberly L. Becker: Evolving City Issue