Chapter 1.
So there's a figure in the next couple of poems, Ggugguyni,
which is the Dena'ina Raven.
And Ggugguyni is both a trickster and a shapeshifter.
And like me, Ggugguyni is a fan of forms.
Most of the time, she lives in her true self--
raven-feathered, sharp-eyed.
Sometimes, like me, she becomes her grandmother's self.
And I want to imagine that means that Ggugguyni is wiser.
But the truth is, she's only a different version of herself.
Bored one day, Ggugguyni flew aimlessly
around Yaghenen, the good land.
It was like being a child again and looking for fireweed
to uproot.
She liked the joy of de-leafing the stem, the thrill of throwing
the naked stalk like a spear.
Far on the edges of Yaghenen, Ggugguyni's eyes
saw a dwelling in a shadow.
Curious, she landed near it.
She shook herself and became an old woman.
She walked to the home, and Half-Human Woman
welcomed her in.
There was no saying what big eyes or what big teeth
you have between the two of them, nor did Ggugguyni
say anything about Half-Human's divisions.
Instead, she took in the Woman's doubleness.
From one angle, Half-Human Woman has a face like ours.
The other, I imagine, looks like how I feel when I'm alone.
When Half-Human Woman took Ggugguyni inside,
Ggugguyni told her, "I want you to be my baby.
I'll swaddle you, I'll rock you, and I will call you my own."
This is the not-yet-traditional part of the story.
In the original, only Ggugguyni speaks her desire.
But me, I'm listening for Half-Human Woman
to belong to someone her longing, her consent, silence.