Faye Edgerton
Faye Edgerton
who translated the Bible into the Navajo language
You didn’t have a word for fishing, so how could I
explain Peter, the boats of Galilee,
their trembling grasp upon the water?
Men who trapped fish with a hook or a line,
weaving a web of lines. Your people
didn’t eat fish and knew little of the sea.
Shepherds you could understand, coaxing
hooved beasts away from thickets, ledges.
Those parables translated best.
So not with a line or a net, but a staff
I caught the misspellings, the misuse of Christ,
in the hard winters in my trailer
at the edge of a yellow wood
writing about Sin and redemption
in this untranslated language.
So good. I'm loving the opportunity to revisit your collection through these posts.