I created this space to share my work. I write poetry and blogs about my indigenous experience. I am a proud member of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria. I hope you find my work inspiring, challenging, and hopeful. Thank you for the visit!
Urban Native Reclamation
Urban native reclamation Working on reversing assimilation Powwow drums to the reservations Rhythm for the rising of the nations Council fires rekindle our salvation Resistance against treaty violation Urban native Reclamation Ancestors guiding decolonization Youth leading language revitalization Intertribal advocacy organizations Creating hope for native reclamation Land back movement growing collaboration Urban Native ReclamationNative artists … Continue reading Urban Native Reclamation
Last Line
In my book I have chapters unwritten Foreshadowing not yet deliveredThere are chapters I’ve written Some pages I have reread Until the ink has faded completely Creasing the spine as a permanent BookmarkChapters that have remained unread Since they were first written There is dialogue I wish to un-penAnd words I have highlighted Becoming recurring … Continue reading Last Line
Oblivion
It’s all chaff in the end isn’t it?Blown away by the wind or burnt to ash A lifetime of choices and consequences Resulting in grief and leftover cash It all seemed so dark to me when we met and now I hold onto more than your hand I clasp my sanity; my anchor in the … Continue reading Oblivion
2050
We were born in the dirtWalked upon it Comforted by its stability Then we began to mine it Digging with our hands Lower and lower our feet reached Standing on clay and mineral Taking gold, cobalt, oil with steel cleats We built towers on the land Tunneling beneath the city Extracting diamond and copper Making … Continue reading 2050
Patient Explanations #8
I avoid eye contact and hunch my spine Repeating over-rehearsed lines Key phrases and carefully chosen replies Each one tested in thousands of imagined conversations Even my vulnerability is poll tested for adaptation Always outside my body in conversation I’m not sure my mask is detachable A back up plan for the inescapable Always apologize … Continue reading Patient Explanations #8
Save the Indian
“Kill the Indian, save the man”Forced into schools for assimilation Genocide committed on unceded land Children held hostage by “god’s” nationBrick by brick they built the schools One by one they buried child natives Schools became Custer’s lasting tool Education keeping the “s*vages” placated Hostages meant to keep the warriors calm No war rises when … Continue reading Save the Indian
Breaking Peace
No one prepares for peace There are no stockpiles of party hats Spirit weeks for empty ICU wards Never a shortage of welcome mats No savings accounts for cotton candy Or slush funds for art galleries Poets and singers never overbooked No one frustrated by their extravagant salary No one planning celebrations on a Tuesday … Continue reading Breaking Peace
Say it
If words do not matter then why apologize Or say I love you or tell me what vegetable you despise If words do not matter then burn all the books Newspapers, journals, and anything with fairy tale hooks If words are useless the never speak again Let our ears be empty of the noises of … Continue reading Say it
Patient Explanations #7
I admit I’m an addict My drug of habit Is sadness Melancholy outlook Dark theme sketchbooks Slow ballad hooks Heavy blankets on thin sheets Headphones and lo-fi beats And cold feet It’s all familiar to me As brokenness fills the seams I smile as the void greets me “Have you relapsed? Are you ok?”And I … Continue reading Patient Explanations #7
A random poem for my wife
Love is cereal at midnight in bed watching a movieLove is talking honestly sitting on the kitchen counter and laughing through tears Love is deciding what to eat by flipping a coin and still not picking Love is arguing until you kiss and forgiving once more Because it doesn’t matter Love is having nightmares about … Continue reading A random poem for my wife
