Storyteller

a prose poem ---the storyteller doll

Storyteller

Yesterday, I asked to be beautiful.
Today, I petition to be made strong
like my squat, sturdy storyteller doll,
a treasure from a vacation long past.
Excited children scamper up and down
over her great work horse of a body.
Sitting resolute through sunshine and rain,
she speaks of her people's history.

At the end of the day there is a space,
a rare perfect moment of in-between.
I invite my grandchildren to my lap
to tell them what I have learned of this life.
That I know the world has heart and meaning,
that we each have a place
where we have never been wounded,
and each ending is but a beginning.

Author's note: Storyteller dolls are clay figures, originally crafted by the Pueblo tribes. They are of a man or woman, mouths open, to represent the transmission of stories and oral history, and most frequently have children, listening, scampering over their bodies.


Written for: "Stormy's poetry newsletter & contest"