And so comes to an end our 2017 National Poetry Month project. Thanks to the poets who trusted us with their work, and a special nod to Poetry Editors Tiffany Midge and Molly Spencer, without whom this project could not have come together.
Heid E. Erdrich is the author of five collections of poetry including Curator of Ephemera at the New Museum for Archaic Media, new in 2017. Her writing has won awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Bush Foundation, The Loft Literary Center, and First People’s Fund. She is an independent scholar and curator as well as a collaborative artist who makes mirco-videos/poemeos. She teaches the MFA Creative Writing program of Augsburg College. Heid grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota and is Ojibwe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain.
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Dear Demeter (Where Hades is the Non-Custodial Parent
of a Special Needs Child)
First in the dark world of a crying child
he will think you ruined his offspring
He’ll say “milk spoilt” and “mama’s boy”
Soon enough he will hate you and hold hostage
all the love he can wring from
a small terrified being
Then when the shining child smiles
and the damned underworld is seen
dank and relentless for what it is
he will see that you invented fire
He will see you kindled with your body
an illuminated being a soul devoted
a bright likeness of the father
an extension of himself
He will love you He will bless you
_______________He will want to make you his
