For A Girl Becoming a Woman

FOR A GIRL BECOMING A WOMAN

for Krista Rae Chico

That day your spirit came to us rains came in from the
Pacific to bless, they peered over the mountains in
response to the singing of medicine plants who danced
back and forth in shawls of mist

Your mother labored there, so young in earthly years
And your father, and all of us who loved you gathered
there, pollen blew throughout that desert house to
bless us with the fragrant knowledge of your pending
arrival here.And horses were running the land,
hundreds of them for you, To bring you here, to bless.

Girl, I wonder what you thought as you paused there
in your spirit house before you entered into the
breathing world to be with us? Were you lonely for us,
too? Our relatives in that beloved place dressed you
in black hair, brown eyes, skin the color of earth,
and turned you in the direction of this place.
We want you to know that we urgently gathered to
welcome you here; we came bearing gifts to celebrate.

From your mother’s house we brought: poetry, music,
medicine makers, stubbornness, beauty, tribal leaders,
a yard of junk cars and the gift of knowing how to make
them run. We carried turquoise, white shell, new clothes
and joy for you. And from your father’s house came
educators, thinkers, dreamers, weavers and
mathematical genius. They carried a cradleboard,
hope and coral for you. We brought blankets to wrap
you in, soft beaded moccasins of deerskin to warm
your feet; we made a home of love for you.

Did you hear us as you traveled from your rainbow house?
We called you with thunder, with singing.
Did you see us as we gathered in the town beneath
the mountains? We were dressed in hope and happiness.
Did you taste the metals of the earth giving muscle
to our dreaming? We are part of the stars,
the impetus of the stars. We were overwhelmed,
as you moved through the weft of your mother
When you took your first breath,
your eyes blinked wide open.

Now you are becoming a woman.
You are moving from one knowing into another.

Now, breathe.
And when you breathe remember the source of the gift
of breathing.
When you walk, remember the source of the gift of walking.
And when you run, remember the source of the gift
of all running.
And when you laugh, remember the source of the gift
of all laughter.
And when you cry, remember the source of the gift
of all crying.
And when you think, remember the source of the gift
of all thinking.
And when your heart is broken, remember the source of the gift
of all breaking.
And when you are tested by fire, remember the source of the gift
of all fire.
And when you are tested by wind, remember the source of the gift
of all wind.
And when you are tested by water, remember the source of the gift
of all water.
And when you are tested by earth, remember the source of the gift
of all earth.
All of this, and you must remember
what comes of this is compassion.

Don’t forget how you started your journey from that rainbow house,
How you traveled and will travel through the mountains and valleys
of human tests. There are treacherous places along the way,
but you can come to us. There are lakes of tears shimmering sadly
there, but you can come to us. And valleys without horses
or kindnesses, but you can come to us.
And angry, jealous gods and humans who will try to hurt you,
but you can come to us.
You will fall, but you will get back up again,
because you are one of us.

And as you travel through this middle world remember all this:

Give a drink of water to all who need it, whether they be plant,
creature, spirit or human.
May you always have clean, fresh water.

Feed your neighbors, be they earthly or spirit. Give kind words
and assistance to your parents, brothers and sisters and family.
May you be surrounded with the helpfulness of family
and good friends. We are all related in this place.

Grieve with the grieving, share joy with the joyful.
Forget gossip or hurtful talk.
May you be build a strong path with beautiful
and truthful language.

Clean your room.
May you always have a home, a refuge.

Bury what needs to be buried. Do not harbor hurt.
May you always travel lightly and well.

Praise and give thanks for each small and large thing.
Review each act and thought.
May you grow in knowledge, in compassion, in beauty.

Always within you is that day your spirit came to us
When rains came in from the Pacific to bless
They peered over the mountains in response to the singing
of medicine plants who danced back and forth in shawls of mist
Your mother labored there, so young in earthly years
And your father, and all of us who loved you gathered there,
Pollen blew throughout that desert house to bless us
With the fragrant knowledge of your pending arrival here.
And horses were running the land, hundreds of them for you,
To bring you here, to bless.

c Joy Harjo February 2005