Reservation Stew

Reservation Stew


1 pound venison
2 cups carrots, sliced
2 cups potatoes, diced
2 cups celery, chopped
1 large onion, minced
1 bay leaf
thyme
salt & pepper to taste

The Indian mother places her life on the cutting board.
She has been waiting for years,
her hips heavy with memories of children dead
by housefire and car-wreck,
children lost to college and prison,
children abandoned by fathers and rent due,
children born to children.
She wants them all back.

Years ago, there was enough for everyone.

Now, the Indian mother measures every emotion
exactly. A moment of sadness can be wasted easily.
She finds leftovers from years of dreaming
will not feed even the smallest heart.

In the grocery store, she digs into her change
purse, needing a quarter for carrots, but finds
a note instead: "Sorry, I needed the money for
cigarettes."

The Indian mother walks into the hills, followed
by generations of need. Can this pine tree
substitute for a pickup truck? Do the small
stones taste anything like hard candy? Will the
bank accept deer tracks as collateral toward
a home loan?

The Indian mother is afraid; she is not afraid.

At night, she sits by the window and watches
for her children. Sometimes, they are bats
flapping at streetlights or stray dogs
howling in the dark. Once, her oldest son
dressed up like a bear and slept on the roof
of the Catholic Church.

The Indian mother sings while she cooks, in
a voice sharp enough to pull roots from the
ground. She pours her whole life, her children
her children's children into the stew pot
and simmers all over open flame.

After years of this slow cooking, she still
waits to serve the last good meal.


Sherman Alexie..............from Old Shirts & New Skins