Carolyn Dunn's News and Views

Spider Woman

Here

in your house

amongst the

pretty lace

china cup,
silk scarves

and books lining the shelves,

I take comfort

in you having

slept here,

thought new worlds

here,

breathed fire here,

made your enemies

drink their own blood,

watched the sun rise,

the sound of water

slowly spreading

its fingers in loving

prayer.

Your beautiful

linens, wallpapered

borders hand-drawn,

woven in color and content,

all in one.

I’m not long for

this world,

you said in

a dream

of another time,

space, life, lace,

feathered light and air,

yet there you sat, telling

me it was time.

Then you were gone.

Five hundred miles later,

through old haze,

children crying,

gnarled trunks

and congested airways,

I lay here, looking for you.

A last song of days

looms sweetly

amongst the tangled web

you so carefully spun from

your body,

fingers dancing, spinning,

until time stood still.

I lay here, dreaming your voice,

watching light and air

fall from spinarets and

thousand faceted eyes

of sky blown clouds.

Last night,

frogs sang, calling rain home.

The sky opened up,

dreaming the dark rimmed

edge of night along

a rain basted sky,

clouds seamless,

the only thing missing

was you.

© 2008 Carolyn Dunn

Labels: myth, poetry

For those who have sent messages of condolences on the passing of my mentor, teacher, and dear friend Paula Gunn Allen, mvto. Paula was a great influence not only to me but to many others. She was a pioneer in the field of American Indian literary studies and in connecting the dots between American Indian matrilineal, matrifocal gynocratic societies and western feminism. As a poet and novelist, she was a strong influence. I was honored to sing at her funeral and thank her children, Lauralee Brown and Sulieman Russell Allen, for asking me to participate and allowing me to be with them during that time.

A memorial service for Paula is being planned for the third week 0f July in the Bay Area. For more information, please see www.paulagunnallen.net. There is a guest book to sign and more info about Paula and her work.


Paula's Corn Dance

ne hi pah
ho pe le tok
hey ya

cha ha ti keya
cha ha ti keya

I plant this seed for you,
so it will grow,
so it will grow.