Nootka Song of Aging
(a traditional Native American tribal lyric, translated)
Along with age, of all the things
To happen to a man,
I look like tufted puffins—ears
Beneath two whitened rings.
Grow old as quickly as you can,
So handsome this appears!
Jennifer Reeser is the author of five books. Writer and former editor of The Paris Review, X.J. Kennedy, wrote that her first volume “ought to have been a candidate for a Pulitzer.” Her verse novel, The Lalaurie Horror, debuted as an Amazon bestseller in Epic Poetry. Her work has been anthologized by Random House and London’s Everyman’s Library, among many others. Her poems, non-fiction, and translations have appeared in Poetry, Rattle, The Hudson Review, and elsewhere. Her sixth collection, Indigenous, is forthcoming from Able Muse Press. Her website is www.jenniferreeser.com