Three Poems from The Wishing Bone Cycle

Three Poems from The Wishing Bone Cycle:
Narrative Poems from the Swampy Cree Indians
translated by Howard A. Norman (Santa Barbara: Ross-Erickson, 1982)

	Born Tying Knots When he came out out into the world, the umbilical cord was around his toes. This didn't trouble us, that he was tying knots that early. We untied it. Later, he heard his birth story. It caused him to begin tying knots again. He tied things up near his home, TIGHT, as if everything might float away in a river. This river came from a dream he had. House things were tied up at night. Shirts, other clothes too, and a kettle. All those things were tied to his feet so they wouldn't float away in the river he dreamed. You could walk in and see this. Maybe the dream stopped because it was no longer comfortable to sleep with shirts tied to him. Or a kettle. After the dream stopped, he quit tying things. EXCEPT for the one night he tied up a small fire. Tied up a small-stick fire! The fire got loose its own way.

	Rain Straight Down For a long time we thought this boy loved only things that fell straight down. He didn't seem to care about anything else. We were afraid he could only HEAR things that fell straight down! We watched him stand outside in rain. Later it was said he put a tiny pond of rain water in his wife's ear while she slept. And leaned over to listen to it. I remember he was happiest talking about all the kinds of rain. The kind that comes of heron's wings when they fly up from the lake. I know he wanted some of that heron rain for his wife's ear too! He walked out in Spring to watch the young girls rub wild onion under their eyes until tears came out. He knew a name for that rain too. Sad onion rain. That rain fell straight down too, off their faces, and he saw it.

	Quiet Until The Thaw Her name tells of how it was with her. The truth is, she did not speak in winter. Everybody learned not to ask her questions in winter, once this was known about her. The first winter this happened we looked in her mouth to see if something was frozen. Her tongue maybe, or something else in there. But after the thaw she spoke again and told us it was fine for her that way. So each spring we looked forward to that.

1. Read (or have students read) in class several students' "Story of My Name" narratives. Have students practice Active Listening to these.

2. Read these three poems, and talk about what they mean. Discuss how Swampy Cree Indians don't name a child when he or she is born. Instead the community waits until that child does something unique or special, and then gives him or her a name to represent that habit or that event.

3. THEN POEM: Make up a Swampy Cree Indian name for yourself the way you were in the past, in your native country. What name would people who knew you then have given you at that time? It should be a name that includes an action word (like "Dances with Wolves"). The name should "tell how it was with you" in your native country... in your life... in the past. It should show what you were like, what you liked to do, or something important that happened to you in the past.

3. Put your "Past Swampy Cree Indian Name" at the top of a piece of paper, then write a story that explains why you might have been given this name. Tell what it was that happened to you. Use a story to show why you might have been given this name in the past. BE SURE TO TELL THE STORY IN THIRD PERSON, USING "HE" OR "SHE" TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF.

4. Turn your story about your "Past Swampy Cree Indian Name" into a poem like the ones above.

5. NOW POEM: Before students leave this class, they should make up another name – a "Present Swampy Cree Indian Name." What name would people who know you NOW give you at this time? It should be a name that includes an action word (like "Dances with Wolves"). The name should "tell how it is with you" in New York City... in your life... in the present. It should show what you are like, what you like to do, or something important that has happened to you recently in New York City. Students should write a story, then a poem for this name for homeFUN. BE SURE TO TELL THE STORY IN THIRD PERSON, USING "HE" OR "SHE" TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF.

Created by: Paul Allison allison@aol.com Last updated: September 19, 2001