White Shell Ever-Changing Woman

Poetry By: Sunny Dooley (Former Miss Navajo Nation,
Storyteller, Poet & Folk Singer)

White Shell Ever-Changing Women

At the purest edge of darkness
At the purest start of light
Mists of sky and mists of earth
Embraced
As clouds of white, blue, abalone and jet swirled
From east to west
From north to south
Unfurled ribbons of rainbows crossed
Beneath it’s arch
Taking sacred breath was a child
Resting on all the essences of what is all of earth
and what is all of sky
nourished on dewdrops and pollens
She stood on tourquoise
Stepped into her white shell moccasins of endurance
She wrapped blue velvet clouds around her
Upon it she placed the mountains, rivers, streams and cloud vapors
She belted her waist with the rainbow
On her wrist she placed laces of swirling clouds of white shell, turquoise
abalone and jet

She took a grass brush
Began to comb her hair that lay as sprays of rain and fragrant blossoms
She combed into each strand every subtle nuance of
grace, strength, charm and
Wisdom
Wrapped it into abundle at the nape of her neck
Tied it with sunbeams
She stood
Illuminated
This Whiteshell-Ever-Changing-Woman
When she spoke
It was:
Ho zho jii