Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
I met her in a bar once in Iowa City.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn…that is the strongest point of time.
Remember sundown and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth,
how your mother struggled to give you form and breath.
You are evidence of her life,
and her mother’s,
and hers.
Remember your father.
He is your life also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
Red earth, Black earth, Yellow earth, White earth, Brown earth.
We are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life,
who all have their tribes, their families, their histories too.
Talk to them.
Listen to them.
They are alive poems.
Remember the wind.
Remember her voice.
She knows the origin of this Universe.
I heard her singing Kiowa war dance songs
at the corner of Fourth and Central once.
Remember that you are all people and that all people are you.
Remember that you are this Universe and this Universe is you.
Remember that all
is in motion,
is growing,
is you.
Remember that all language
comes from this.
Remember the dance that language is,
that life is.
Remember.
~Joy Harjo
