I began choking and kicking, fighting for air. My spirit he… - Joy Harjo

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I began choking and kicking, fighting for air. My spirit helper spoke precisely: ‘If you fight water, you drown

Joy Harjo

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About Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo (May 9, 1951) is a poet, musician, author and the first Native American United States Poet Laureate.

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Muriel Rukeyser Denise Levertov Linda Hogan Mary Oliver William Stafford

Additional quotes by Joy Harjo

The pervasive rhythm
of her mother’s heartbeat is a ghostly track
that follows her.

I leave you to your ceremony of grieving
Which is also of celebration
Given when an honored humble one
Leaves behind a trail of happiness
In the dark of human tribulation.
None of us is above the other
In this story of forever.

Poetry (and other forms of writing) can be useful as a tool for finding the way into or through the dark. Or a device with which to admire the complexity of the stories in which we have become entangled. Sometimes the only way out is by voice, following the music into the impossible.

I began choking and kicking, fighting for air. My spirit helper spoke precisely: ‘If you fight water, you drown - Joy Harjo

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