Indigenous Woman

Upon my birth I was wrapped in buckskins,

linen or in my mothers' arms.

I was carried in a papoose, in a rebozo or on the hip.

I sang with the birds

and swam with the fish.

I ran with the wind blowing through my long hair

and dreamed under many stars...

 

I was able to fight or make love with equal ease and energy.

I lived to be free and died when it was denied to me.

I worked harder than many men,

Yet stepped softer than a thousand butterflies.

I gave birth working the fields

of yucca and maize

And my child suckled at my breast as I planted

each new crop.

My energies were everlasting.

My dreams were for all eternities.

Until they came on horseback.......