Roly Poly Bug People

...I’m convinced each of us here on Earth has made that leap in consciousness.. Even the roly poly bug I watched skitter quietly across the floor of the bathroom of my Kolkata hotel room, a few years ago had made that crossing. In India it was morning. In my body, it was the middle of the night. When I got up I looked through the window. I could see women across the way squatting and doing the laundry in the river, as their families swirled around them. I was delighted to see this little fellow join me in that corner of the world as I sat on the toilet. I spoke to him with my mind. I’ve always felt close to these roly poly people with their segmented, armored bodies and the ability to roll into a perfect ball when threatened. I first met them when I was a child in Oklahoma and dug in the dirt for the sheer joy of the smell of earth. They were often with me when I watched sunrise outside alone in the early warm mornings of summer. And now here in a place far away from Oklahoma, I felt properly greeted by them. As he walked away to have his breakfast, he gifted me with the vision of the light of his spirit: an exquisite glow surrounding his dignified body...

Excerpt from my memoir in progress c Joy Harjo 2009