What we haven't imagined will one day spit us out magnificent and simple. - Joy Harjo

We become lost,
Unsteady.
Take a deep breath,
Pray.
You will not always be lost.
You are right here,
In your time,
In your place.

FALLING FROM THE NIGHT SKY (a song) I was a star falling from the night sky I needed you to catch me I was a rainbow lifting from a dark cloud I needed you to see me You keep your eyes to the ground Walk that line she had to you. That path of patient expectation. Keeps you true to her undoing. My heart wore flowers and a red dress. The first time we kissed You smelled of happiness and moonlight We drove the night to tenderness. When you’re here we are the sun and the moon. In the land where promises come true. When you’re here, we share imagination No explanations. It’s just me, and you. You keep your eyes to the ground Walk that line she had to you. That path of patient expectation. Keeps you true to her undoing. I am a star falling from the night sky I need you to catch me I am a rainbow lifting from a dark cloud I need you to see me

Every poem has so many poetry ancestors. How can we construct a poetry ancestor map of America that would include and start off with poetry of indigenous nations? Those strands would continue into the present with the wonderful young Native poets we have right now. I guess what strikes me is the diversity—the diversity of Native poetry, which was here and is here and is still growing, and the diversity of American poetry, which has roots all over the world—and I’ve always wanted to show that, ultimately, there’s a root system that’s connected all over the Americas, which is one body and all over the world. A healthy ecosystem is a system of diversity. That’s the same thing in poetry, different poetry streams. It’s the same thing with peoples in a country.