“FALLING FROM THE NIGHT SKY” (a song) by Joy Harjo
I was a star falling from the night sky
I needed you to catch me
I was a rainbow lifting from a dark cloud
I needed you to see me
You keep your eyes to the ground
Walk that line she had to you.
That path of patient expectation.
Keeps you true to her undoing.
My heart wore flowers and a red dress.
The first time we kissed
You smelled of happiness and moonlight
We drove the night to tenderness.
When you’re here we are the sun and the moon.
In the land where promises come true,
When you’re here, we share imagination
No explanations.
It’s just me, and you.
You keep your eyes to the ground
Walk that line she had to you.
That path of patient expectation.
Keeps you true to her undoing.
Our knowledge is based on the origin stories of land, genealogy and ancestors. If you know the branches of the tree of relationship between tribal clans and family members, then you know who you are, said the panther to its cubs.
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Food for Thought—
1. What is the effect of the abundant figurative language and lyrical style of the poem? For example, consider her use of alliteration in “That path of patient expectation” (7, 20) and of metaphor: “I was a star falling from the night sky” (1), “I was a rainbow lifting from a dark cloud” (3), “When you’re here we are the sun and the moon” (16), and “You smelled of happiness and moonlight” (11).
2. What types of emotion are being expressed towards “you”? How do you know?
3. In Crazy Brave, Joy Harjo examines the importance of her personal relationship with both nature and men. What do you think the relationship in the poem involves?
4. Harjo finishes the poem with a brief description: “If you know the branches of the tree of relationship between tribal clans and family members, then you know who you are, said the panther to its cubs” (lines 22-23). Why do you think she includes this apparent reference to blood quantum? What does it have to do with the rest of the poem?