Awarded the Indigenous Poets Prize in the Adult (Arizona) category
Close-up of Conversion by Thomas “Breeze” Marcus
Deer Tracks
If I was a boy becoming a man, a Morningstar would break a rainbow
And make a path for me to run
Like an eagle Bahaj
por aqui por aya
por aqui por aya
guk siarik, guk siarik
I would come forth running bearing a cloud on my head
I would pray for the jewed to open and flower
I would cry for a vision
I see the cranes, las gruas
El sonido del mar in my pecho
The taste of salt in my mouth
Corriendo a la montana
Corriendo a la montana
I would consume only light
Cantando mis canciones
Alcanzando a la luna y las estrellas
I would run towards the mountain’s para susutanar me.
I would run towards the mountain’s para susutanar me.
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Ramona Gutierrez Opata, Tohono O'odham, Mescalero Apache, xicanindia. A self taught poet, engages with families in the poetry of birth experiences and time after birth for 30 plus years, believes all new Babies are a line of poetry in a family. Began writing poetry 6 years ago. Her poetry education began with her family. Her paternal grandmother would recite poetry and her father would read aloud to her sisters and cousins, whatever he was reading. She began to write poetry as a means of remembrance, honoring, and self-love. This poem is a reminder of where she comes from, the place with no borders. The poem was written in a place with no cell phones, TV or radio, just mountains, cows, and birds. Inspired by bird songs, running, and the transitions from youth to adulthood.