Ofelia Zepeda is a Native American poet who possesses a kind of double vision.She sees the contemporary world through her own highly observant eyes and atthe sa... » 

Ofelia Zepeda is a Native American poet who possesses a kind of double vision.She sees the contemporary world through her own highly observant eyes and atthe same time through the eyes of her Tohono Oodham ancestors. Seeing this wayinfuses her poetry with a resonance and depth that makes it a delight to readnd reread. Zepeda is as cleareyed about the past as she is about the present.She recalls waiting for the school bus on a cold morning inside her fatherstruck listening to the sounds of the engine the windshield wipers and thesoft rain on the hood.? She remembers celebrating Mass on the ?cold dirt floorof the Winter Solstice.? In the present she sees both the frustration and thehumor in a woman she observes trying to eat pancakes with one hand while herother resides in a cast Watching her I realize eating pancakes is a twohanded job.? Whatever she sees she filters through her second set of eyeswhich keep the past always present. She tells of traveling to Waw Giwulig themost sacred mountain of the Tohono Oodham to ask for blessings ndforgiveness. She writes that one should always bring music to the mountainsso they are generous with the summer rains.? And still the scent of burningwood holds the strongest memory. Mesquite cedar pinon juniper ... wecatch the scent of burning wood we are brought home.? It is a joy to see theworld afresh through her eyes. «