Splitting Worlds (for artist Darla Fisher-Odjig's Exhibit, 'Cowboys & Indians')

Splitting Worlds

On the occasion of artist Darla Fisher-Odjig’s exhibit, “Cowboys and Indians” (May 19, 2016)

Wenesh aw? Who is that?

I know her not, the girl she is

today,

hard lines drawn by a

world that forced her

conformation, and built

a smooth, clear border

between her inside

and out.

HI hey hey hey, HEY hey hi…

Wenesh aw? Who is that?

the girl within, features

once strong and clear,

fading the well-formed

warrior of her past into

a cloudy cream of loss,

of falling, fragmented memories.

HI hey hey hey, HEY hey hi…

Nmaanaadendam, I am sad,

I cannot take her back,

cannot reclaim her robust

beginnings, full of a rich fern-

green heritage and deep,

sweet fruits of ancestors’

lineage, in an earth untorn

by cultural clear-cutting.

HI hey hey hey, HEY hey hi…

Aabiish Eshaad? Where is she going?

but to find her links to

the grandmothers.

to reawaken the hazy faces and

soft, rubbed out pathways

to her distinct identity in this world

of splitting.

HI hey hey hey, HEY hey hi…