WILD CATS

(For Joy Harjo)

She had some wild cats,
Bits of black fluff
abandoned as the white preacher
fled poverty's flood
that engulfed his flock
in alcohol and drugs

She had some wild cats
who shared her cold spaghetti
cheeks blushed with sauce
They licked each others face
and rolled full-bellied
in the sweet cut grass

She had some wild cats
Who ran away when Dad died
They lived hard in the woods
Fasting and walking for a year
They came home lean silent and healed

She had some wild cats
Who went away to boarding school
And slept through the night
They loved to read books
And feel the weight of words
rolling from her fingers
As she mixed them on a page

She had some wild cats
Who loved with the passion
Of the wild west wind
who brings rains that flood
And flings down trees
that refuse to bend

She had some wild cats
That bathed in icy rivers
They painted their faces
and sang the sun into the sky
Defying white laws of gravity

She had some wild cats
Cats that lived in cartoons
And chased technicolor mice
tiptoeing past the dog
Day after silly day

She had some wild cats
who learned to hate themselves
For their beautiful brown skin
And flew their car into a tree
Into the fabled tunnel of white light

She had some wildcats
who survived the crash
And took their first sober steps
Since their cousin gave them beer
At their ninth birthday party

She had some wildcats
Who learned to love themselves
Bought a second hand computer
And wrote poetry plays and stories
To begin the healing