Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Reading Woven: First Nations poetic conversations from the Fair Trade project and A Savage Turn, I remembered moments during my childhood when I would wake to the sounds of family members calling in to visit my parents late at night. Listening to the adults share conversation, I ached to be a part of their exchange. My door left ajar, the light of the kitchen would illuminate an intimate space around a table that held much more than cups of tea: our kinship woven together in stories, laughter and sometimes even tears. If I got up, I was told to go back to bed.