Ofelia Zepeda is a Native American poet who possesses a kind of double vision. She sees the contemporary world through her own highly observant eyes and, at the same time, through the eyes of her Tohono O’odham ancestors. Seeing this way infuses her poetry with a resonance and depth that makes it a delight to read—and re-read.
Zepeda is as clear-eyed about the past as she is about the present. She recalls waiting for the school bus on a cold morning inside her father’s truck, listening to the sounds of the engine, the windshield wipers, and the "soft rain on the hood.” She remembers celebrating Mass on the "cold dirt floor of the Winter Solstice.” In the present, she sees both the frustration and the humor in a woman she observes trying to eat pancakes with one hand while her other resides in a cast: "Watching her, I realize eating pancakes is a two-handed job.”
Whatever she sees, she filters through her second set of eyes, which keep the past always present. She tells of traveling to Waw Giwulig, the most sacred mountain of the Tohono O’odham, to ask for blessings—and forgiveness. She writes that one should always bring music to the mountains, "so they are generous with the summer rains.” And, still, "the scent of burning wood / holds the strongest memory. / Mesquite, cedar, piñon, juniper, . . . / we catch the scent of burning wood; / we are brought home.” It is a joy to see the world afresh through her eyes.
Pt. I Lost Prayers
The Place Where Clouds Are Formed 3
Trapped Air 7
Crossing Mountains 9
Halls of the I.C.U. 10
Birth Witness 12
Aroma of Sorrow 14
Lost Prayers 15
Ocotillo Memorial 17
Pt. II Other Worlds
Dirt 21
Landscape 24
The Other World 27
Nene'i Ha-sa.gid 28
In the Midst of Songs 29
Music Mountains 30
Traces 32
Wild Horse Pass Resort: Gila River Indian Reservation 34
Sounds of Ceremony 36
Tsegi Overlook 37
An Oodham in Yosemite 38
Pt. III How to End a Season
Proclamation 43
How to End a Season 46
Mogollon Rim 48
Hopi Blue 50
Squash Under the Bed 51
The Way to Leave Your Illness 52
Just Like Home 53
Words on Your Tongue 54
Road Man's Son 56
Do'ag Weco 57
Calling on Ancestors 60
Outside Payson 61
Sunset 62
Pain of Speaking 63
Walking with Language 64
Blacktop 65
Redefining Home 67
Watto/Ramada 68
Seeing Red 69
Aligning Our World 70
Smoke in Our Hair 72
Overview
Ofelia Zepeda is a Native American poet who possesses a kind of double vision. She sees the contemporary world through her own highly observant eyes and, at the same time, through the eyes of her Tohono O’odham ancestors. Seeing this way infuses her poetry with a resonance and depth that makes it a delight to read—and re-read.
Zepeda is as clear-eyed about the past as she is about the present. She recalls waiting for the school bus on a cold morning inside her father’s truck, ...