21st-Century Meditation

Kim Shuck, Warrior Trout (2016), 15/0 glass seed beads on brain-tanned hide, 9 x 2.5 in / Courtesy of the artist and Doug Salin Photography

Memory spirits give me days full of
Words I’ve forgotten or
Never been taught the
Language in my cells that won’t come out
Daughters of memory and

Patricide I

Practice making their shapes with my tongue against teeth a

Story of soundless singing a

Meditation I am

Stone I am

Cracked stone

Editorial note: Warrior Trout has been selected as the winning artwork entry for the twenty-fifth anniversary Returning the Gift conference (October 8–11, 2017), which will coincide with Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the University of Oklahoma.

Kim Shuck is a poet and bead artist. She is the oldest daughter of Tsalagi and Goral families. Her poems can be found in packets of coffee, many literature periodicals, both online and paper, and in the pockets and notebooks of students. Her most recent book is Clouds Running In.

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