Joy Harjo

On this Indigenous People Day, here’s a poem by Joy Harjo (born May 9, 1951), American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Nation (Este Mvskokvlke) and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hickory Ground).

Harjo is an important figure in the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century.

For Keeps

Sun makes the day new.
Tiny green plants emerge from earth.
Birds are singing the sky into place.
There is nowhere else I want to be but here.
I lean into the rhythm of your heart to see where it will take us.
We gallop into a warm, southern wind.
I link my legs to yours and we ride together,
Toward the ancient encampment of our relatives.
Where have you been? they ask.
And what has taken you so long?
That night after eating, singing, and dancing
We lay together under the stars.
We know ourselves to be part of mystery.
It is unspeakable.
It is everlasting.
It is for keeps.

--Joy Harjo

[March 4, 2013, Champaign, Illinois]