People call me ignorant 

Because I come from the countryside,

Because I don’t talk politics, 

Or religion, but stick to planting my purple beans,

Cherokee corn and sweet potato slips.

I walk amidst the big oak trees,

And when they offer their acorns to me,

I take them and offer

The first ones to the sky,

And make meal from the rest

For my daily manataka bread.

When night comes, I happily

Take down my stringed tortoise shell

And sing divine glory,

The blessings of appearing ignorant to the ignorant,

And wise to the wise who see,

That really, I deliberately choose

To ignore and to renounce the false chaos,

So I can embrace the true one.

-jenn