But what captured him was a light in the river folding open and open blood, heart and stones shimmering like the Milky Way. - Joy Harjo

I want to have some effect in the world; I want my poetry to be useful in a native context as it traditionally has been. In a native context art was not just something beautiful to put up on the wall and look at; it was created in the context of its usefulness for the people. (what do you hope your poems do?) JH: I hope that on some level they can transform hatred into love. Maybe that's being too idealistic; but I know that language is alive and living, so I hope that in some small way my poems can transform hatred into love.

You took me once
to an older part of earth
I'd never seen — where monsters were born
and killed.
They sacrificed everything
and nothing
for a taste of this
life.

For the true warriors of the world, fighting is the last resort to solving a conflict. Every effort is made to avoid bloodshed