People of the Desert
by Lenora Rain-Lee Good

What did she write, this daughter
sitting across the table from her mother?

A book about her ancestors, where
they lived, what they raised and ate?

I can’t see the pages, from where I sit.
Memory of my books always had pictures

hand drawn and crayoned in bright colors
unless I was too slow to the box we all shared.

Mother is pleased, always pleased,
daughter is pensive, wanting her praise.

This child, groomed to become matriarch
of the family, quietly listens to her mother’s words.

Quietly learns to lead. I do not worry for her–
she is of the desert outside the window.

She knows its ways, how to live.
She will see her people thrive.



 

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