Poem: "Trust Old Age"
Nov. 14th, 2021 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithBased on an audience poll, this is the free epic for the November 2, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl reaching its $200 goal. It is spillover from the September 7, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from readera. It also fills the "Hero / Idol" square in my 9-1-21 card for the Platonic Love Fest Bingo. This poem belongs to the Daughters of the Apocalypse series.
"Trust Old Age"
[5 A.E.]
The First Gather was held
in Santo Domingo Pueblo,
because it was more or less
in the middle of Pueblo Territory.
Kokopelli Joe was excited to see what
all of those messages had wrought.
Traders came from north and south,
east and west, to barter with each other.
Each Pueblo sent four unmarried people
who wanted to find spouses -- two youths
and two maidens if they could, although
some had only one youth to send
and a few had only maidens.
The maidens who wanted a youth
all to themselves would have
quite a challenge contending
for the short supply of them.
Those who were willing to share
a husband as some ancestors
had done -- especially sisters --
would have a much easier time.
Of course, Kokopelli Joe would
make himself available to those
who did not find a husband but
still wished to become mothers.
It would all be fine anyway.
Babies were scarce nowadays,
and any clan would welcome
them to raise in common.
Each Pueblo also sent an elder,
almost all of them women,
to lead the ceremonies.
It was a gathering of
grandparents as much
as a courting opportunity.
Elders had always been
the heroes of their people,
especially the old women
whose wrinkled faces reminded
everyone of the sacred earth
from which they had all come
and to which they would return.
In fact, the last matriarch of
Santo Domingo Pueblo had
passed away recently, and now
they wanted to hold a ceremony
to choose her successor.
The old women who were
past their moon years came
to stand in a circle, while
a grandfather passed
around a bag of stones
for each to take one.
When they opened
their hands, all held
a brown pebble except
for Turquoise Door Woman,
who had the skystone nugget
for which she had been named.
Her granddaughter Cornflower Girl,
who was still too young to put up
her hair as a maiden, brought out
the crown of juniper and cleome.
The new matriarch would lead
her clan, for the Pueblo people said,
Cherish youth, but trust old age.
Turquoise Door Woman then
shared advice from her years of
marriage with the young people
who held up hopes of love.
Of the fifty-two singles in
search of marriage, half
found what they sought.
Four of the new households
had three or more members,
while the other six had two.
The rest would have to try
again some other time.
Despite the lingering threat
of the Diné on the border,
Kokopelli Joe felt sure they
would have that chance.
They had grandmothers
to guide them, and everyone
knew to trust in old age.
* * *
Notes:
Cornflower Girl -- She has tinted skin, almond-shaped brown eyes, and long straight hair of dark brown. Her heritage is Puebloan of Santo Domingo Pueblo. She is 10 years old in 5 A.E. Cornflower Girl is the granddaughter of Turquoise Door Woman. They both attend the First Gather, where Turquoise Door Woman becomes the new clan matriarch.
Cornflower is revered for attracting bees.
Turquoise Door Woman -- She has tinted skin and almond-shaped brown eyes. Her long hair is straight behind with curly bangs, dark in her youth but now white streaked with gray. Her heritage is Puebloan of Santo Domingo Pueblo. She is 69 years old in 5 A.E. Turquoise Door Woman is the grandmother of Cornflower Girl. They both attend the First Gather, where Turquoise Door Woman becomes the new clan matriarch.
Turquoise is a sacred stone in many southwestern cultures.
* * *
"Cherish youth, but trust old age."
– Pueblo
Dinneyland is the outsider name for the Navajo nation, which has expanded to a larger part of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. It also completely absorbed the former Hopi reservation inside its borders. It comes from "Diné" (Navajo people) and "land."
Pueblo Territory is an alliance of former reservations belonging to various Pueblo peoples, all of whom have united in the face of larger threats.
Dinneyland is trying to push east into Pueblo Territory, but so far, the Pueblo peoples have held the line. Nobody wants to fuck with the Mescalero Apache. They are widely considered crazy dangerous and tend to shoot anyone who comes near.
See a map of the Navajo Reservation.
This map of New Mexico shows its reservations. Isleta, Laguna, Sandia, Santa Ana, Jemez Canyon, and San Felipe Indian Reservations were all flooded with refugees from Albuquerque. Tesuque and Cochiti Lake got refugees from Santa Fe. Refugees fleeing northeast from Alamagordo ran into the guns of the Mescalero Apache, who were fed up with white people, and few escaped alive.
The Navajo first overran the Hopi inside the Navajo reservation, then began to expand. They faced little resistance to the north and west, modest resistance from the Apache to the south, stopping at the Fort Apache Reservation. Going east, they swallowed up small communities at first but then stopped at the Jicarilla Apache and met with stiff resistance from the widespread and staunchly united Pueblo Peoples, who formed the Pueblo Territory.
Some homes in Santo Domingo Pueblo are hogans. Other homes are made of adobe. Historically, the Pueblos were cliff dwellers.
Kokopelli Joe and the southwest situation were introduced in "Kokopelli Returns."
Native American marriage customs vary widely across tribes. Read an example of Navajo traditions.
Matriarchs lead many Pueblo families.
Southwestern tribes share some sacred plants; this article is about Navajo ones.
26 newlyweds
2 2 3 3 (10 women in sets)
1 1 1 1 (4 men)
14 people in poly marriages (4 households)
12 people in paired marriages (6 households)
readera. It also fills the "Hero / Idol" square in my 9-1-21 card for the Platonic Love Fest Bingo. This poem belongs to the Daughters of the Apocalypse series."Trust Old Age"
[5 A.E.]
The First Gather was held
in Santo Domingo Pueblo,
because it was more or less
in the middle of Pueblo Territory.
Kokopelli Joe was excited to see what
all of those messages had wrought.
Traders came from north and south,
east and west, to barter with each other.
Each Pueblo sent four unmarried people
who wanted to find spouses -- two youths
and two maidens if they could, although
some had only one youth to send
and a few had only maidens.
The maidens who wanted a youth
all to themselves would have
quite a challenge contending
for the short supply of them.
Those who were willing to share
a husband as some ancestors
had done -- especially sisters --
would have a much easier time.
Of course, Kokopelli Joe would
make himself available to those
who did not find a husband but
still wished to become mothers.
It would all be fine anyway.
Babies were scarce nowadays,
and any clan would welcome
them to raise in common.
Each Pueblo also sent an elder,
almost all of them women,
to lead the ceremonies.
It was a gathering of
grandparents as much
as a courting opportunity.
Elders had always been
the heroes of their people,
especially the old women
whose wrinkled faces reminded
everyone of the sacred earth
from which they had all come
and to which they would return.
In fact, the last matriarch of
Santo Domingo Pueblo had
passed away recently, and now
they wanted to hold a ceremony
to choose her successor.
The old women who were
past their moon years came
to stand in a circle, while
a grandfather passed
around a bag of stones
for each to take one.
When they opened
their hands, all held
a brown pebble except
for Turquoise Door Woman,
who had the skystone nugget
for which she had been named.
Her granddaughter Cornflower Girl,
who was still too young to put up
her hair as a maiden, brought out
the crown of juniper and cleome.
The new matriarch would lead
her clan, for the Pueblo people said,
Cherish youth, but trust old age.
Turquoise Door Woman then
shared advice from her years of
marriage with the young people
who held up hopes of love.
Of the fifty-two singles in
search of marriage, half
found what they sought.
Four of the new households
had three or more members,
while the other six had two.
The rest would have to try
again some other time.
Despite the lingering threat
of the Diné on the border,
Kokopelli Joe felt sure they
would have that chance.
They had grandmothers
to guide them, and everyone
knew to trust in old age.
* * *
Notes:
Cornflower Girl -- She has tinted skin, almond-shaped brown eyes, and long straight hair of dark brown. Her heritage is Puebloan of Santo Domingo Pueblo. She is 10 years old in 5 A.E. Cornflower Girl is the granddaughter of Turquoise Door Woman. They both attend the First Gather, where Turquoise Door Woman becomes the new clan matriarch.
Cornflower is revered for attracting bees.
Turquoise Door Woman -- She has tinted skin and almond-shaped brown eyes. Her long hair is straight behind with curly bangs, dark in her youth but now white streaked with gray. Her heritage is Puebloan of Santo Domingo Pueblo. She is 69 years old in 5 A.E. Turquoise Door Woman is the grandmother of Cornflower Girl. They both attend the First Gather, where Turquoise Door Woman becomes the new clan matriarch.
Turquoise is a sacred stone in many southwestern cultures.
* * *
"Cherish youth, but trust old age."
– Pueblo
Dinneyland is the outsider name for the Navajo nation, which has expanded to a larger part of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. It also completely absorbed the former Hopi reservation inside its borders. It comes from "Diné" (Navajo people) and "land."
Pueblo Territory is an alliance of former reservations belonging to various Pueblo peoples, all of whom have united in the face of larger threats.
Dinneyland is trying to push east into Pueblo Territory, but so far, the Pueblo peoples have held the line. Nobody wants to fuck with the Mescalero Apache. They are widely considered crazy dangerous and tend to shoot anyone who comes near.
See a map of the Navajo Reservation.
This map of New Mexico shows its reservations. Isleta, Laguna, Sandia, Santa Ana, Jemez Canyon, and San Felipe Indian Reservations were all flooded with refugees from Albuquerque. Tesuque and Cochiti Lake got refugees from Santa Fe. Refugees fleeing northeast from Alamagordo ran into the guns of the Mescalero Apache, who were fed up with white people, and few escaped alive.
The Navajo first overran the Hopi inside the Navajo reservation, then began to expand. They faced little resistance to the north and west, modest resistance from the Apache to the south, stopping at the Fort Apache Reservation. Going east, they swallowed up small communities at first but then stopped at the Jicarilla Apache and met with stiff resistance from the widespread and staunchly united Pueblo Peoples, who formed the Pueblo Territory.
Some homes in Santo Domingo Pueblo are hogans. Other homes are made of adobe. Historically, the Pueblos were cliff dwellers.
Kokopelli Joe and the southwest situation were introduced in "Kokopelli Returns."
Native American marriage customs vary widely across tribes. Read an example of Navajo traditions.
Matriarchs lead many Pueblo families.
Southwestern tribes share some sacred plants; this article is about Navajo ones.
26 newlyweds
2 2 3 3 (10 women in sets)
1 1 1 1 (4 men)
14 people in poly marriages (4 households)
12 people in paired marriages (6 households)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-15 06:32 pm (UTC)The idea of the 'traditional American marriage' infringing on freedom more so that some of the alternatives that are often deemed un-American is interesting.
I wonder how modern marriages from different cultures would stack up in terms of freedom...
>>...who were fed up with white people, and few escaped alive.<<
Not that I can blame them, but I do wonder:
A) What counts as 'white' in context? WASPs? Minorities who usually are considered white or able to pass as such (Irish, Italian, Jewish?) Is it a culture thing where it depends on how / where you grew up?
For that matter, what about folk that are nonwhite and nonnative?
B) I know some traditions have different rules for cross-cultural adoptions. Is anyone picking up young refugee kids, even if they're traditionally from 'outsider's groups?
(no subject)
Date: 2022-02-21 03:29 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2022-02-21 03:41 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2022-02-21 01:28 pm (UTC)