The Rug Weaver — Mojave, 1904

Piñon nuts, prickly pear cactus,
she gathers juniper berries,

the dance of the squaw,

a black crow keens

and walks in the sun
catches fire —
without its carapace
the cawing is louder:

Shideezhi,
daughter of Chooli —
today is your Kinaalda,
rite of passage,

thick handspun yarns
carding and spinning,
everyday letting out the sheep.

Things she said about being a woman:
my great-grandmother remembers
the Long Walk home
land of the four sacred mountains
desert mesa by the Wash

heard the cries of a child —

long, fringed buckskin dress
adorned with silver concha belt,
turquoise bead necklace,

upright loom.
Navajo weaver carding
and spinning,

we live here as a clan

mud roof cedar hogan
door facing the east.

Photo Credits

Mojave Yucca – Public Domain

Previously Published in Tuck Magazine

Guest Author Bio

Ilona Martonfi
Ilona Martonfi Author of two poetry books, Blue Poppy, (Coracle Press, 2009.) Black Grass, (Broken Rules Press 2012). Published in Vallum, Accenti, The Fiddlehead, Serai. Founder/producer of The Yellow Door and Visual Arts Centre Readings, co-founder of Lovers and Others. QWF 2010 Community Award.

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