ECCI Poetry
Written by Amber Matthews Monday, 10 October 2011 08:28
Judith Owens-Manley, Director of Center for Community Engagement and Learning at UAA, attended fish camp in Klukwan through the Educator Cross-Cultural Immersion program. The following are a collection of haikus she wrote during her experience, one for each day at camp.
Awake to mountains ‘round me,
Silvery shapes below
Slip by in the currents
Distant shapes emerging in gray fog
The mountains revealing themselves
The Chilkat rushes by
Old ways, forgotten in new times,
Renewal and remembrance
We reach back to learn
Our lives are close by our food
Drying fish point upstream
Their spirits live on
Tendrils entwine and link together
Invisible across distance
Family and tradition
Shoulder to shoulder, jars stand
Ready to feed a village
The fullness of life
The tie that binds me to you
Stretches back through time
We’re one human race
Our life is close by our food,
Our drumbeat close by our hearts
An ancient village, Klukwan
You’ve roamed land and rivers, hunted, fished,
Sacred ground through time,
Mine was stolen
Drums beat a rhythm in everyday life
My rhythm too, steady energy,
An unheard accompaniment
Bountiful gifts from land & sea,
Hand to mouth I live
No more than enough.
Auntie is a special role, safe harbor,
Believing in you,
A fierce, gentle love
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