Received 02/18/2007 17:33

A poem by Simon Ortiz

Harry, a poem for you, In a season of contradictions and more,
cheers, merriment, happy holidays, seasons greetings, any
sweet season without reason, everything nice and all that!

Harry, friend, brother, artist, jokester, story and storyteller
younger brother by a couple years, maybe three, maybe more,
and Californian, why not, be anything you want, anything
people can stand, might as well be Californian too! And anyway!

Harry, Coyote artist extraordinaire, who else but! what else but
the power to laugh, that's the true and real power of language
so laugh, that's what Coyote, your brother would say
listen, ssssssh, can you hear him laughing behind the door?

Harry, today's voice in winter, a voice that laughs no matter why
or when or how or how come, even while saying thank you,
this morning when it was freezing, freezing, freezing cold brrrrr
thank you, brrrrrr, teeth shivering almost shattering thank you

Harry, good news, bring us good news, not the war in Iraq, not
the lies, let the Bushies and Cheneys do that, they're experts,
it's Christmas...but whoa there, whoa-ho, why not the lies too,
'tis the season of contradictions, is it not, merriment and joy?

Harry, but why not good news for the sake of good news, war or no war
why not, let's have good cheer, genuine and real, no matter
that the experts in their war rooms spread gloom and doom
and bombs everywhere, let us, anyway, not believe their lies!

Harry, my friend Jean says thank you to me and explains Shelly,
her daughter, says we never say I love you enough, and I agree
so Jean says thank you my friend for showing me the estrellas
and so thank you, Harry, for your Coyote art extraordinaire!

Harry, my dear beloved brother, thank you for your art, your spirit,
your laughter, compassion, sensitivity, and disgruntlement
what a word, a word I never use-and your courage, love,
those things that make us human after all no matter what

Harry, it's winter now, you'd never know, in your VA hospital room,
winter snow, winter wind, cold knives cutting into skin,
I had to scrape ice from my car windows this morning,
shivering brrrrring this morning like I said, where's the sun?

Harry, remember though, it's going to be spring short months away
no kidding, spring will be spring, sunny days, sunny days,
no such thing as winter forever, no more war doom and gloom,
o my, sunny days, sunny nights-sunny nights? Just kidding.

Harry, what a time it will be when spring comes, like the time,
we were in Venice though this time we will not be lost!
remember I got to the airport at midnight, then the cab
to the ferry or whatever they're called in Italian-gondolas?

Harry, next time it will be in Venice in the spring, not June
like last time, and not lost, and not like we were strangers
and foreigners like sometimes in California and New Mexico:
foreigners, strangers, aliens, feeling illegal in our own land!

Harry, I understand, Coyote brother, the how and why and why not
Coyote needs to laugh--so we can love those who make us feel
contradictions we need to see, that we need to realize, that we
need to know what our lives have become! To see, to know.

Harry, thank you for making me and others feel welcome to see
the contradictions you and Coyote see and show us, especially now
'tis the season to see the contradictions as we say Happy Holidays,
Season's Greetings, Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, don't worry,
Harry, Coyote would say, don't sweat the small stuff human beings
are made of. Just live, just live, Harry, be artist, be Coyote, and live!

Simon Ortiz, December 24, 2006