Dá’ák’eh    ahooł’níi (To make a crop)

By Chris Hoshnic

After Emily Dickinson’s “To make a prairie”

Dá’ák’eh     ahooł’níi niłch’i  doo   naadą́ą́.
Naadą́   niłch’i
Doo     Sodizin.
Niłchi     adiin             goo
Sodizin bee ’adoolniił.

To make a crop, it takes the wind and corn,
A corn and the wind.
And a Prayer.
The Prayer alone will do,
If the wind is few.

Notes:

The author gratefully acknowledges Beth Piatote for her foundational contributions to what is herein referred to as “pastoral translation,” part of her academic and literary contributions to the fields of creative writing and Indigenous languages. Appreciation is also extended to Roland Hoshnic, who aided the Navajo translation of the poem.

Source: Poetry (March 2025)