Duane Niatum
Duane Niatum (1938-present) is a Native American poet of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. He served in the US Navy before receiving his BA from the University of Washington, MA from Johns Hopkins University, and PhD from the University of Michigan. Niatum has taught high school American and European Literature, was the editor for the Harper & Row's Native American Author series, and is considered a member of the second wave of the Native American Renaissance. Source
Mixed Media
The stars grow lemon
in the field, spread
like tea leaves in
a cup; red-wing
blackbirds fold themselves
into the fence,
corn dreamers.
The sky undulating
with clouds returns
gold-throated arpeggios
to the one walking
at sunrise, sunfall.
Light as the air
I sit on my
cottage steps;
a tom cat come
home to die for
the day.
Published:
1991
Length:
Shorty
Literary Movements:
Native American Renaissance
Anthology Years:
2020
Themes:
Intersectionality & Culture
Nature
Literary Devices:
Alliteration
the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words appearing in succession
Enjambment
a line break interrupting the middle of a phrase which continues on to the next line
Juxtaposition
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
Simile
a comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”