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Sacred Dirt
I don’t go outside very often
anymore. The butterflies don’t land on me
like they used to. My skin doesn’t
warm under the sun–it only burns,
redder than it should.
My home sits on sacred dirt.
I’ve watched my mother sew it into
her quilts for years. I keep
some in a jar on my bookshelf.
The only butterflies I have left are paper.
I think of dying things often. I think
of the earth reaching up and embracing them.
Myths are to me
what the sacred dirt is
to the home
built upon it.
Things die in the stories I love,
and things are reborn.
The earth wraps her oaky arms around
everything, her braids like chains
holding up the sky.
Reid Myers
Biography: My name is Reid, I am an avid photographer, guitarist, and outdoorsman. I like my coffee every morning and my skills are always evolving. I love film photography and digital alike, and believe each is a tool to capture the human nature in us all.
Artist Statement: Flow for lack of a better word is my approach. When a photo can give me the kind of tightness in my chest. The imperfections and innate power come through, so to describe how a piece of art works for an individual is, priceless. My photography is not perfect, it never will be, and I don’t want it to be.
Social Media: @myers1.4 on Instagram
Brynne Boehlecke
Biography: Osiyo nigadv! Hello everyone, I’m Brynne, a second-year OSU student majoring in creative writing with minors in Indigenous studies and German. I’m from Las Vegas and I’m a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and identities wrapped around place, language, and love are the driving forces in much of my art. When I’m not writing or studying, I enjoy buying more plants than I need and reading a borderline unhealthy amount of books about witches. Wado / Thank you!
Artist Statement: I never saw myself as a poet, but it turns out all I needed was the right inspiration to make poetry that both holds meaning to me and can hold meaning for others. My inspiration often comes from minute details and broad identities, and my poems are attempts to find the places where those things overlap. Whether I’m writing about the effects of colonization on Native languages or the way my mom makes quilts out of old T-shirts, I always try to find unique images that can evoke ubiquitous feelings.
Social Media: @brynne.hannah on Instagram