anishnaabeg

aanii kina wiya! hello everyone! i’ve been re-editing a poem that i wrote about twenty years ago and posted here ten years ago. in the first version it was called, anishnaabekwe. anishnaabe is the descriptive word for the people of the land around the great lakes and inland, which covers ontario, quebec, saskatchewan, michigan, minnesota, and, ohio,. migration has landed us everywhere around the world nowadays. 

anishnaabe+g is the plural form of anishnaabe. the prefix kwe refers to people who claim female gender. the prefix inini refers to people who claim male gender. i wanted to include everyone who claims anishnaabe identity in the poem as way to connect and celebrate all genders of anishnaabeg. miigwech for reading. take care and be free.

 

anishnaabeg

 

your breath

wild rice, salmon and three sister soup

calls me home

 

your laugh

wind in the trees, grass, and leaves

echos back to me

 

your hair

smokey sweetgrass, cedar and sage

leads me home

 

your skin

oceans, lakes, rivers, and creeks 

brings me home

 

 

your beauty

sun rays moving along rocks, tundra, flora, and fauna

reminds me of home

 

anishnaabeg

you are the image reflecting back to me on the still water

we are the land

we are the water

we are the air

we are the ether

 

anishnaabeg

we are connected by just being alive

generations before us and after us

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