MY FATHER

My father is tall.

He is strong.

He is brave.

He hunts and he rides

and he sings.

He coaxes the corn

and the squash plants

to grow

out of the sand-dry earth.

My father has magic

in his finger tips.

He can turn

flat pieces of silver

into things of beauty.

Sometimes

I hide in the wide folds

of my mother's skirts

and look out at my father.