Pottery Lessons
hokte hokte honvnwv*
begin here
with the clay she says
under her breath….. a handful of earth
from silt-bottomed streams
loosens between fingers ……….. water
echoes in an empty bowl
………………. hokte
………………………… hokte hacet os
I was birthed of mud …… blood
and bone ……. hokte
……………………….. hokte… hecet os
glass globes
inside my tin belly….. echo of
water in an empty bowl
I remember the sound of her soft
body….. hokte
………………… hokte ….. honvnwv
Have just begun
to bleed today
thought I might be dying
walked barefoot beyond the backyard
over the cattleguard hokte
hokte honvnwv
each blade of grass
a rusted glint
in the circular basin
of bison grazing…… clay
rims the water-colored sky
in an empty bowl …… water
echoes …… when we walk
horizons shift
how to call them
closer ……. feel their white tufts
between fingertips
………. hokte
…………………… hokte honvnwv
by Jennifer Elise Foerster
from The Kweli Journal;
August 2010
*Muscogee Language
hokte: woman
honvnwn: man
hecet os: to see