Summer Vacation
by Sharmagne Leland-St. John
Under desert skies, where rocky formations stand two boys listen, entranced by their father’s voice as he reads to them from a book about Coyote, The Trickster.
When he speaks for Coyote his voice is gruff, unless Coyote is trying to trick someone then papa uses a falsetto. It makes the boys laugh.
Laughter is not something they are used to.
It is summertime and the boys are home from boarding school. At home they are allowed to wear traditional garb…at school they are not.
They miss their brightly hued clothing.
They miss the desert landscape vast and grand.
Often when Father, Shizhé\’é, reads he translates the words into Diné bizaad. (The People’s Language.
They are not allowed to speak this language at school for fear of punishment. Father does not want his children to forget their cultural pride, their language. So he reads to them all summer. They cherish these moments.
The open book
a window to the past and
to the future.
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