Ndakinna (Our Land)

New and Selected Poems

Joseph Bruchac

Written over a period of twelve years, these beautiful poems of Abenaki heritage invoke the natural world of New England and the poet’s meditations upon it.  The land and culture Bruchac celebrates is part of his family’s continuing legacy.  In a second section, the well-traveled poet views a variety of creatures and events, and these encounters show that Bruchac is always at home, always centered, no matter where he is. 

The moon is a golden apple sliced in half
by earth’s shadow, glazed by southern clouds.
We pause where the meadow grass is highest,
both stopped by the thick smell of campion blossoms.
They’re all around us, my son says, look!
Their blossoms are like larger, paler stars
in the sky spread at our feet.
             —from “Walking at Night with My Son, James”

5½ x 8½ inches • 80 pages • ISBN 0-9705344-7-7 • $11.95