I think the natural movement of love is an opening, a place that makes connections...You have to be open in that way to write a poem that really work… - Joy Harjo

A story matrix connects all of us.
There are rules, processes, and circles of responsibility in this world. And the story begins exactly where it is supposed to begin. We cannot skip any part.

I marked myself once with a knife. I was disappearing into the adolescent sea of rage and destruction. The mark of pain assured me of my own reality. The cut could speak. It had a voice that cried out when I could not make a sound in my defense. I never made such a mark again. Instead I chose to slash art onto canvas, pencil marks onto paper, and when I could no longer carry the burden of history, I found other openings. I found stories. (p91)

We're all putting energy out whatever we're doing... we're in a constant stream of energy, and we're either singing or making noise. (2009)