Author Description

Ofelia Zepeda is a Native American poet who possesses a kind of double vision. She sees the contemporary world through her own highly observant eyes and, at the same time, through the eyes of her Tohono OÕodham ancestors. Seeing this way infuses her poetry with a resonance and depth that makes it a delight to readÑand re-read. <br><br> Zepeda is as clear-eyed about the past as she is about the present. She recalls waiting for the school bus on a cold morning inside her fatherÕs truck, listening to the sounds of the engine, the windshield wipers, and the Òsoft rain on the hood.Ó She remembers celebrating Mass on the Òcold dirt floor of the Winter Solstice.Ó In the present, she sees both the frustration and the humor in a woman she observes trying to eat pancakes with one hand while her other resides in a cast: ÒWatching her, I realize eating pancakes is a two-handed job.Ó <br><br> Whatever she sees, she filters through her second set of eyes, which keep the past always present. She tells of traveling to Waw Giwulig, the most sacred mountain of the Tohono OÕodham, to ask for blessingsÑand forgiveness. She writes that one should always bring music to the mountains, Òso they are generous with the summer rains.Ó And, still, Òthe scent of burning wood / holds the strongest memory. / Mesquite, cedar, pi–on, juniper, . . . / we catch the scent of burning wood; / we are brought home.Ó It is a joy to see the world afresh through her eyes.