49. She Had Some Horses | Joy Harjo
23rd Poet Laureate of the United States
I’ve written about some of my favourite poetry here, here and here.
I discovered Joy Harjo when she was named the United States Poet Laureate in 2019. She is the first Native American to hold that honour and also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to have served three terms.
She Had Some Horses was first published in 1983 and I quote, “Joy Harjo’s poems speak of women’s despair, of their imprisonment and ruin at the hands of men and society, but also of their awakenings, power, and love.”
Fun fact: Harjo began writing poetry as a member of the University of New Mexico's Native student organization, the Kiva Club, in response to Native empowerment movements.
One of my favourites from the collection:
Remember
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
