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Presence - Process - Paradox
Creativity - Receptivity

Poems of Paradox: Sherman Alexie

12/4/2016

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The Powwow at the End of the World
BY SHERMAN ALEXIE
I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall   
after an Indian woman puts her shoulder to the Grand Coulee Dam   
and topples it.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive   
and so I shall
after the floodwaters burst each successive dam  downriver from the Grand Coulee.
I am told by many of you   
that I must forgive and so I shall after the floodwaters find their way to the mouth of the Columbia River as it enters the Pacific and causes all of it to rise.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive   
and so I shall
after the first drop of floodwater is swallowed by that salmon waiting in the Pacific.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall   
after that salmon swims upstream, through the mouth of the Columbia and then past the flooded cities, broken dams and abandoned reactors of Hanford.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall   
after that salmon swims through the mouth of the Spokane River as it meets the Columbia, then upstream, until it arrives in the shallows of a secret bay on the reservation where I wait alone.   
I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall
after that salmon leaps into the night air above the water, throws a lightning bolt at the brush near my feet, and starts the fire which will lead all of the lost Indians home.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall   
after we Indians have gathered around the fire with that salmon who has three stories it must tell before sunrise: one story will teach us how to pray;
another story will make us laugh for hours;   
the third story will give us reason to dance.
I am told by many of you that I must forgive
and so I shall
when I am dancing with my tribe during the powwow at the end of the world.


Sherman Alexie, “The Powwow at the End of the World” from The Summer of Black Widows. Copyright © 1996

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    Hello Dear One  

    The feminine is mystery and matter. It exists in each of us regardless of gender. So much of the unique wisdom of the feminine has been manipulated, devalued, or forced into hiding. The way we have ignored this part of ourselves shows in our anxiety, depression, exhaustion. It shows in the scars of the earth,  and the grief in our hearts. 
    But all is not lost.
    Each of us is a wisdom carrier. 
    The foundational aspects of the feminine are Presence, Process, Paradox, Creativity, and Receptivity. 
    Here you will find teachings, stories, and poems reflecting these key elements.  The magic of the feminine shared by people who are working hard to rediscover and reclaim feminine wisdom and to carry them back into the world. May these stories be an inspiration to all. Because really, there is no separation. 

    Laura Pinney

    I bring women together who are interested in cultivating more vulnerability, love, and peace in their lives. I support women to reclaim their 
    ​power, worth, and light through ancient, earth based traditions, feminine embodiment practices and Rites of Passage Ceremony.
    I support communities and organizations to build healthy, regenerative culture. 
     

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rubén Díaz Caviedes
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