poems inspired by sherman alexie

memorial day, 1972

By Sherman Alexie 

I was too young to clean graves
so I waded into the uranium river
carrying the cat who later gave birth
to six headless kittens. 

O, Lord, remember, O, do remember me.

leaving (for jeelan)

Aliyah Bilal-Gore 

I was unwilling to understand
so I stood there blinking stupidly at the packed bags
carrying the memory of the girl
who was such a loving sister to me.

O, Jeelan, I remember, O, I remember you.

what the orphan inherits

By Sherman Alexie

Language

I dreamed I was digging your grave
with my bare hands.  I touched your face
and skin fell in thin strips to the ground

until only your tongue remained whole.
I hung it to smoke with the deer
for seven days.  It tasted thick and greasy

sinew gripped my tongue tight.  I rose
to walk naked through the fire. I spoke
English.  I was not consumed.

Names 

I do not have an Indian name.
The wind never spoke to my mother
when I was born.  My heart was hidden
beneath the shells of walnuts switched
back and forth.  I have to cheat to feel
the beating of drums in my chest.

Alcohol 

“For bringing us the horse
we could almost forgive you
for bringing us whisky.”

Time

Indian boys
Sinewy and doe-eyed
Frozen in headlights.

on being a kid

By Aliyah Bilal-Gore

Language 

To you, a four letter word
was just a sock,
and “funner” was a proper word.

An adult was always to be repeated
even if it got your mouth washed out,
or a call home from an angry teacher.

Food

You would starve in five minutes
Tablespoons of sugar for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
was all the nourishment you needed.

The World

The world was mapped out in your mind
all the unnecessary bad parts
(or at least the ones concerning you)
were meticulously edited out by your imagination.

Nothing could go wrong.
Nothing was impossible.
Everything could be used to fly to the moon.

Love 

It was a game the girls used to play at recess.
Try and kiss as many boys as possible.
It was those bone crushing hugs the aunt with the
fat, hairy knuckles gave you.

Time

You never thought you’d grow up,
just stay the same forever.
And if your parents tried to force you,
Peter Pan would unexpectedly show up
and fly you away to Never Never Land.

Friendships lasted forever.
Grandparents never “went away”
Nothing changed.