A literary mix presented by Eve West Bessier, Poet Laureate of Silver City and Grant County, New Mexico
My two-year term as poet laureate comes to a close this month. For my final Laureate’s blog post, I am pleased to feature seven Delight Song poems. Three were submitted by students from Western New Mexico University, where I taught a virtual class for Professor Heather Frankland. Three were submitted by participants of a virtual workshop I taught for the Silver City Public Library, and one is my own. All of these poems were inspired by and written in response to N. Scott Momaday’s poem, “Delight Song of Tsoai-talee.” I hope you will enjoy this collection.
It has been an honor and a delight to serve as poet laureate! I will continue to post my monthly Write On! blog, so you will still be seeing me on this site.
Delight Song Jasmine Chambers
I am the pen that writes my story
I am the sun that gets up everyday
I am the hands that work hard
I am the water within every stream
I am the ink on the paper
I am the pixels on the screen
I am the color of the picture
I am the emptiness in the room
I stand in good relation to my family
I stand in good relation to the guides
I stand in good relation to myself
You see, I am alive, I am alive
Delight Song of Kyle Crater
I am a bright star in the dark night sky
I am stronger than a brick
I am like a mountain standing strong
I am like a deer wandering the large forest
I stand in good relation to my colleagues and neighbors
I stand in good relation to my wife
I stand in good relation with my community
I stand in good relation to nature and the beautiful Gila wilderness
I AM
by Destiny Gase-Adams
I am the breeze along the wild sea.
I am the moon that lights my nights.
I am the shell that protects my body.
I am the shimmer on the summer water.
I stand in good relation to the waters.
I stand in good relation to the nights.
I stand in good relation to my true soul.
You see, I am alive, I am alive.
Delight Song of Marty Eberhardt
I am leaves of the cottonwood, gold in the fall.
I am a wild poppy, unfurled in morning light.
I am grooves in the trunk
Of a grandmother juniper.
I am the soft, slow call of a mourning dove.
I am a gray fox, standing sentinel.
I am her cubs racing among rocks.
I am a riffle of wind on a smooth pond.
I am hard rain on a tin roof.
I am the stillness of midnight snow.
I am one star among the constellations.
I am the whole dream of all these things,
We are the whole dream of all these things.
You see, we are alive, we are alive.
We stand in good relation to the earth.
We stand in good relation to our fellow humans.
We stand in good relation to all that is beautiful.
You see, we are alive, we are alive.
Delight Song of Alethea Eason
I am mango granita floating in heavy cream,
I am the constant hum in the kitchen,
I am the storm sweeping from the mountain,
pushing its being across the metal roof,
I am neither in nor out.
I am the pen writing in a book of magic paper,
I am the poem hanging on the edge
of Orion’s Belt,
and the cat’s paw that bats at rhyme,
I am neither words nor stars,
but I am the one who rides the wolf
through an autumn forest,
the hidden fawn in tall marsh grass,
the fool’s gold in the stone you cast away.
I am the red dress made of rose petals,
neither tame nor wild.
I am the lighted melody and the pattern fingers trace on piano keys.
I am alive in each shadow the raven throws to the ground
wrapped in a verb of becoming.
Delight Song (My True Self)
by Lynne Zotalis
I am memories that float and fade, billowy clouds
pale to opaque
I am wilted crepe paper poppy petals
spent with thirst
I am icicles hanging from my heart
impenetrably locked
I am desert rose marble
split by lightning
I am a willow bent to the earth
weeping for shelter
I am a sticky spider web of doubts
straining for release
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to adversity
Vak Devi
I stand in good relation to teacher
Athena
I stand in good relation to understanding
Gaia
I stand, a honed blade tempered by experience
You see, I am alive, and I have flourished through all of this.
Delight Song of an Immigrant Child
by Eve West Bessier
I am the call of a bald eagle greeting the rising sun.
I am the brilliant orange of ten-thousand blooming poppies.
I am the longing to belong of the timid one at the playground’s edge.
I am the mosaic grey of a lizard hiding under the eaves.
I am the muffled morning under a foot of snow.
I am the silent flight of a great horned owl.
I am the childhood stories of the wacky adventures of Puk & Muk.
I am the awkward feel of a second language on the tongue.
I am early morning breakers at Rio del Mar beach on Monterey Bay.
I am the perfect curve of a harbor porpoise in a translucent wave.
I am the eggy taste of fresh mayonnaise on top of French fries.
I am the crepe-thin crisp of pannekoeken on a Sunday morning.
I am the tart vanilla scent of the mighty ponderosa pine.
I am the winding of a deer trail among California valley oaks.
I am the eagle down tucked into a jeans jacket pocket.
I am the belief in democracy, dignity, and justice for all.
You see I am an immigrant child. I am an American.
I stand in good relation to purple mountain majesties!
I stand in good relation to waves of amber grain!
I stand in good relation to the land from sea to shining sea!
You see, I am an immigrant child! I am an American!
For more about Eve West Bessier, see About The Author below or go to www.jazzpoeteve.com
