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Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas

by Jennifer Raff

by Jennifer Raff

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Summer Solstice<br />

In our retellings I suppose we don’t much bo<strong>the</strong>r<br />

Keeping straight <strong>the</strong> bent details, crooked roads<br />

In one tale after ano<strong>the</strong>r, how we handed down<br />

Sidelong versions <strong>of</strong> whatever happened next<br />

Under ebbing oceans an ancient underground<br />

Somewhere in <strong>the</strong> receding past <strong>the</strong>y kept saying<br />

Their slippery sense <strong>of</strong> community mattered, it<br />

Shaped <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong>ir history, <strong>the</strong> story <strong>the</strong>y filled<br />

Themselves with every day, waking <strong>the</strong>ir minds<br />

Connecting to <strong>the</strong> history <strong>of</strong> memory as if it all<br />

Felt real, seemed specific enough, logical enough<br />

Those changing details that give rise to <strong>the</strong> world<br />

In our retellings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tale along a crooked road<br />

—Roger Echo-Hawk (Pawnee historian)

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