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Tundra Talker She was sure facing the frost rimed tundra in an open arm stance would invite a closeness she had not known to welcome before her shoulders had become stooped under a kuspuq from a borrowed culture. She was not afraid to admit standing ankle deep in lichen, whispering Sanskrit, the most ancient of her languages. The soft squint of her eyes promoted concentration and called up ancestors into early morning puffs of steam. They hovered above her lips as she asked them to kiss her spirit. She told us her practice hoping we would curve ourselves into an early morning ritual, like birds who call up the weak sun over white mountains to light up the tundra before the first snow. She wanted us to know the way to ancestors before we too became stooped and had to borrow the robes of others. |
Additional Notes:
For Dr. D.A. Bartlett, professor of classical literature.
kuspuq= Native Alaskan pull over with a hood, large pockets and a deep ruffle.
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