Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Her Eyes
Her Eyes
(Joy Harjo)
Her eyes tell us
she had a very hard childhood.
As if growing up, bad things happened—
maybe rape, beating,
too many hard drugs.
Betrayal again and again.
Now she looks at us
with eyes of steel.
Her gaze pierces
all the gauze and armor
we have collected
to shield our lives.
It says, I know you,
every bit and particle,
everything that happened,
all that you thought,
did.
I know because I have been there,
walked this dark path,
struggled and fought.
Survived.
Now I am a sphinx,
waiting in silence.
I will judge you harshly,
make you accountable.
I will know what you most fear.
I will know who you are.
Only then
will I give you
my love.
Dorothy Walters
July 19, 2012
dorothywalters72@yahoo.com;
www.kundalinisplendor.blogspot.com
(poems and reflections
on the spiritual journey)
Quite recently, I posted one of Joy Harjo's poems on this blog, and included this photo of her that I found on the internet. As I studied her countenance, a poem "wrote itself" about her, it being a fantasy based on what I felt when I looked at her and her all seeing eyes. She is a powerful woman and a gifted poet.
Then, just today, I discovered that she will be appearing at the Boulder Bookstore tomorrow night (July 25) at 7:30 p.m. (bookstore is located on Pearl Street near Broadway on the Mall). I urge you to attend if you live in this area.
Another reason I am interested in her is that she was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a descendent of one (or more?) of the native tribes. I was also born (and grew up) in Oklahoma, but I had no connection with the native tribes.
