This next poem is a poem called "A Song
for the Direction of North."
It's so beautiful here, it's kind of
hard to imagine that it's cold elsewhere.
[LAUGHTER]
So I just want to read this poem for my relatives
who are up North.
"The sky is a blanket of stars covering all of us.
The night is fold in darkness, girl.
Just after midnight we walk in the cool mountain air.
The stars glisten so.
Their bright beauty makes us dizzy.
Laughing, we bump lightly against each other.
I hold my daughter's arm.
We walk slowly, still looking at the sky.
The night is fold in darkness, girl.
Those few stars in the North seem so close.
Maybe they are right above Buffalo Pass.
Underneath the stars, Lukachukai mountain lies dark and quiet.
It breathes with the sacred wind.
Clearly, clearly, the barking of dogs echoes from miles away.
Right there, under the pine trees,
the shiny, smooth horses snort and breathe loudly.
The night is fold in darkness girl.
The Milky Way stretches wide and careless across the dark night.
It is a bright sash belt with thin soft edges.
The night is scattered thickly with glistening
specks and blinking orbs of light.
In some night spaces there is no order.
Coyote sure did a good job, Misty says.
We laugh and I love my daughter so.
The night is folding darkness, girl.
The house sits strong and round against the base
of the mountain.
In the dark stillness, slants of moon and starlight
wait within the curved walls for white dawn, girl.
Slants of light for white dawn, boy.
Ahshénee 'wee, t'áá kóó neiit'aash dooleełée My beloved
baby.
If only we could stay here.
There is no end to this clear, sweet air.
To the West, immense rocks lie red and start
in the empty desert.
Somewhere, my daughter's smooth laughter
deepens the old memory of stars.
Tonight I become Folding Darkness Girl.
Tonight, I become Folding Darkness Boy.
Each morning, white bead girl arrives.
Each morning, White Bead Boy arrives."