looking
for other bones
I might have
missed
for nights
I dreamed of other bodies
escaping
and bad omens.
The earth was hollow
around my feet.
My feet were wading earth and
rotted branches. Limbs the size of human thigh
and twigs that could fit a small child
hand.
But no trees for them to have fallen
and soon I was buried to my waist and some of the branches
were curved like a bow – like ribs –
and some knotted evenly into a perfect spine
and the salt on the air was soured.
I mean, the stench became so bad
I had to leave the bodies where they lay.
ELOCUTION LESSONS
Grandfather is sitting in the kitchen with “all conveniency” in his cup.
Mother says these things skip a generation.
Q: Is it because “Indian” marries “white girl” produces “half-breed” shortly after “Indian” dies? Because only half the blood can hide, only half the bones come clean?
A: Where are you going with these?
Figures from the CDC are inexact. They’ve been imprecise in their correlations, and
There are a number of ways one might choose
to articulate the shape
dependent on distance between tongue
and how many teeth
I’m beginning to suspect their threats are crossed.
Leading causes of death:1 Heart disease bad heart cancer unintentional injuries frequently following consumption of alcohol followed by diabetes chronic liver disease higher rate of binge drinking chronic lower respiratory disease stroke suicide social(?) pneumonia impaired judgment kidney disease … this is all just speculation of [a] course
What constitutes a bad heart?
What constitutes social consumption?
intent?
a threat?
Cause
of death: traumatized.
Q: Are you trying to relate to me?
Statistics are a soft science.
INSERT BLOOD REQUIREMENTS HERE.
[Disregard.]
“Not only in architecture, dress, and food did administrators and settlers try to maintain home standards but also in generating the statistical information that was deemed necessary by the national government.”
Considerable energy goes into constructing suitable records
that are in the end
inadequate.
“Given enough time, these things can be redressed.”
A: Yes, I am trying to relate to you—
Which of my bones are yours?
How about some extra ones for my back?
(My spine is prone to fracture. A body has needs
to know its limits.)
I think I’ve got the color down, except for my white sexed parts, my mother parts. These are unresponsive.
White is a nervous shade,
don’t you think?
So easy to spoil.
I’ve been wearing white since the wedding. There are some stains, as one might expect.
Red and yellow, black and white…
I am precious on my mother’s side.
“It is our generation’s turn. That is, it’s my turn, but
I don’t feel the need. That is, I don’t feel any real threat.”
Observations: Although health outcomes among AIs are improving, large disparities with other racial and ethnic groups in the United States remain. Many health-related problems are directly linked to high rates of substance use and abuse.
One mustn’t rush to find a cause until we know
all the facts are known.
It’s just—
the bones these social scientists keep digging up
remember where the blood escaped
there was blood in them
we buried—
I have inherited more skeletons than I can count. Such a weary weight to conquer this mass.
Q: Statistically speaking,
Must I be old?
Must I be traditional?
Must I be fair?
Fair skinned, fair haired, neatly squared2?
A: The question of blood lies out the body.
bodies
Guangkuta “Sugpianek” ap’rtaakiikut cuumi, nutaan ap’rtaaraakut Alutiit.
Can you put my apaq on the line? That is, my great- (in regarding distance) apaq on this line? It is important that I reach him, that I follow the right channels, a body
water will wash away
return me transparent to the sea.
On weekends I can be found in museums trying to find the right
face to wear in light of recovered records and evolving vocabulary.
I am thinking a shark but a shark like any other predator
looks as much man as monster the way
these bodies are
figured.
Results: Grandfather is crying, great-grandfather is crying. Where are they going, the children, and when // will they come back?
It means we-are-people.
Still, there’s a chance, mother says:
these things skip a generation.
1 National Vital Statistics System, LCWK1_2013. Deaths, 15 leading causes of[,] death by race: United States, 2013, Page 100.