The TCJ Student Virtual Poetry Slam
TCJ Student partnered with Thunder inDIGIfest for the 2021 AIHEC poetry slam. Held virtually over Zoom, the slam was an experiment in the making.
Poetry
Her Hands
Sheep by Talhela Daw of Dine College.
Her hands are smooth and rough,
like rusted metal in the rain.
Her heart is soft, like blue corn mush
on a Saturday morning.
a field of insect-i-cides
“beneath umbrellas of drooping purple petals, sticks with triangular heads hold curved handles, thin membranes stretch for tiny legs to back—stroke . . .”
Díí ’Óólyé, This Is What It Means
“Shí’ee’ ’éí łeezh bee łíbá sílį́į́’ lá. My clothes became adorned with dust and dirt. ’Áko t’óó nízhónígo shí ’éé’ bík’ídíídláád. The Sun ribbons beautifully adorned my clothes.”
Digital Black Hole
“Your hollow rib cage echoes in silence as you float into the endless digital stream.”
Quercus
“With words about savages, standing too long in the sun to know what’s good for them. My mother stands strong. I raise myself higher, in proud nickel likeness.”
Gimaamaaminaan Aki (Mother Earth)
“In the beginning, she gifted us life-giving waters. Swelling from underneath, she gave birth to the water panthers and horned serpents.”
Old Dogs of Taos
“Old dogs of Taos, dream off wounds – together they sleep in shade under clouds, dozing off sunshine in the long shadow of the old earth house.”
Tasty Cake
“Gram made a humongous cake which laid out in a thousand rains. Thick ribbons of water, icing flowing down ruinous fringes of receding prairie.”