Gizaagi’in apii zaagi’idizoyan
I love you when you love yourself
gaye gaawiin zaagi’idizosiiyan
and when you do not
apii zaagijiba’iweyang
when we escape together
gaye zaagijinizhikawangwaa
and when we chase together
wiindigoog wiindamoonangwaa
the demons who tell us
gaawiin zaagiginzinog ozaagiing
nothing sprouts at the inlet
aanawi gikendamang jiigi-zaaga’igan
when we know at the edge of the lake
gii-zaagida’aawangweyang ingoding
where ashes were poured
zaagaakominagaanzh zaagaagoneg
the bearberry stands in the snow
zaagidikwanaaging ezhi-nisidotamang
branches reaching and tracing
zaagijiwebinamang gaye ishkonamang
what we have tossed and what we have saved
ezhi-naagadawaabandamang
as we examine
gizaagi’in, gizaagi miidash ozaagi’aan.
love.
Copyright © 2020 by Margaret Noodin. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 2, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets.