10.06.2022 Views

The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions

by Paula Gunn Allen

by Paula Gunn Allen

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that if I come<br />

to <strong>the</strong> top<br />

of <strong>the</strong>ir mounta<strong>in</strong><br />

I will not turn around<br />

tumble back down<br />

with a PhD stuck<br />

uselessly <strong>in</strong><br />

my fossilized ribs.<br />

But I know<br />

a sheepsk<strong>in</strong>-degree<br />

will not turn me white<br />

as turquoise never<br />

turned me red.<br />

We slip <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> current<br />

crash<strong>in</strong>g along parallel<br />

to striped red<br />

and white path.<br />

We have no names<br />

but are swept along<br />

because <strong>in</strong>side <strong>the</strong> dictionaries<br />

we have turned to thieves.<br />

Without compass<br />

or daystar or dipper<br />

I sail on past <strong>the</strong> port.<br />

Like Magellan I miss<br />

entire cont<strong>in</strong>ents<br />

landmasses slid<strong>in</strong>g<br />

by <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> fog<br />

like planets<br />

galaxies apart,<br />

molecules apart.<br />

Shall I stop<br />

and count my losses

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