Keya Pouch, by Thomas E. Simmons

Turtle Pouch, a Dakota tradition for carrying umbilical cord of baby girls.

Keya Pouch
 
Wašícu call me "mixed media"
They described me as craft
Then they labeled me art
So they could display me
 
Inside me I cradle (and cradle still within)
The corded tissue from the baby girl
Which stitched her to her mother which
Her mother cut and sewed inside of me
 
With this hard shell I protect it
I beam to it a safety which seeps
From my constellation studded
In the stars to her tiny fingers
 
I will not be displayed nor admired
I am to be worn; I shall comfort
I will protect and resist; I’ll cradle
 
Thomas E. Simmons
 
Thomas E. Simmons is a professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law in Vermillion, South Dakota and teaches courses like Trusts & Wills, Professional Responsibility, and Estate Planning. His legal scholarship touches on the same topics. His poetry, however, is varied, obscure, and typically unpredictable. ​