The Remembered

Originally published in Speckled Trout Review, Issue 4.1 Spring 2022

Her framed photograph hangs on our wall 

above her Cherokee name-Still Stands Looking- 

fierce face beside a First Family certificate 

declaring direct descendance to this woman 

who walked the Trail of Tears. 

On the kitchen table in our house 

rests a basket of woven river cane; 

it's filled with sweet, ripe peaches, 

peaches gathered from a single grove, 

taken from a single tree, an unyielding tree 

that withstood brutal winters to produce 

first one lone peach, then a bushel, and 

over time became an orchard.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

The Trail of Tears. Was of so many sad actions done to the Native Americans. Helen Jackson book "A century of dishonor." Tell of the hardship of the Native American in the USA. My grandmother at six-year-old. An Ojibwa child took from her home. They cut her hair, changed her name and she wasn't allowed to speak her language. She spoke to me, one time about this. She told me. I forgave them and I remember everything. Hate and regret, a heavy weight to carry. I teach my grandchildren, the Ojibwa way. Thank you for sharing the amazing and worthwhile poetry.
Coyote

[W. Barrett Munn]

This woman, too, was forced to change her name from Cherokee Still Stand Looking to Susie Stills. read moreThis woman, too, was forced to change her name from Cherokee Still Stand Looking to Susie Stills.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
W.

[Coyote Poetry]

It was sad what the government did Winston.

[Chris Shaw]

Still-Stands-Looking, I saw her portrait. I see her as strong, defiant and resilient. She would have had her struggles just as that peach tree started off a sapling, to grow over years and through harsh winters to produce succulent fruit. Really like how this poem cuts through time, people and places.

Chris

[W. Barrett Munn]

Thanks so much for the kind words, Chris.

[Stuart Munro]

A very Good poem , I like how it goes to the peaches from the Cherokee woman’s framed picture

[W. Barrett Munn]

Thanks for the kind words, Stuart.

[Stuart Munro]

It’s a pleasure

[John the Baptist]

The basket of peaches is an apt metaphor for the Cherokee ancestor. For though the tribe was uprooted and displaced from its homeland in the east and forced to go to Oklahoma, it did not perish, but flourished. They are their own monument.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Yes indeed. Thank you for taking the time to read and review.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Such a beautiful remembrance...I still feel guilt over what we did to the Native Americans, even though I was far removed from that time.
j.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Thank you. J.
Living here in Oklahoma, I see it up close. It is my wife who is First Family Cherokee.

[Cherrie Palmer]

A true treasure. To measure a piece of our past with questions and imagination.
I love this one.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Thanks, Cherrie,
High praise as I know you are not only sincere but busy, so thanks for the time to read and the review.

[Cherrie Palmer]

I'm busier than I like. I hate when work gets in the way of reading 📚 😊 any way I really enjoyed your poem.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Again thank you. I am pleased.

[mattavelli]

Hello, W! :)
This is a lovely poem, and a sweet analogy. Thanks for sharing.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Thank you for the comment and for reading. Please read more if you have time and inclination. I try to always return the effort.