A Poem by Nils Aslak Valkeapää

I do not own the copyright to the following poem.

It was written by Nils Aslak Valkeapää (1943-2001), a prominent Sámi writer, visual artist and creator and performer of yoiku music also known as Áillohaš. Below is a poem from his book, Trekways of the Wind.

For a moment I was with you
rested for a while

And now my friend, my dear bird
it is time to leave again
It is always like that towards the end

And I take out the white reindeer fur coat
not so new any more
but not worn either
And I take out the mottled fur shoes
new shoe strings
nice dark fur leggings
the silver belt the gákti
the silk scarf the cap
the fur gloves
And the food pack

I leave
to arrive
go away
to be closer

To the space of your thoughts
to your heart
I crawl
into the heart

I journey
on the sea of time
follow
the tracks of the wind

Salinger quote

Do you know what I was smiling at? You wrote down that you were a writer by profession. It sounded to me like the loveliest euphemism I had ever heard. When was writing ever your profession? It’s never been anything but your religion.

– Salinger, “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters”

Crazy Horse quote

The red nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world; a world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations; a world longing for light again. I see a time of seven generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the sacred tree of life and the whole earth will become one circle again.

Tȟašúŋke Witkó (Crazy Horse), Oglala Lakota Leader (1840-1877)