(Photo courtesy Korissa Howes. Restoration by Mike McColl)
Made in black and white
Frayed upon the edges
Free of wrinkles despite
That they were not then
My father’s parents
Looked so in love
At a time in the 1930s
When this was unheard of
A Native man and Swedish girl
Met at a table of cards
He was dark and handsome
With slicked-back hair
That white t-shirt
A clean shaved face
She wore high heels
Her hair pinned back
Sitting on his lap
Beautiful and married
With eleven kids
She loved him to the end
Never regretting moments
Living in unity
Korissa Howes , a Duluth-born Native American, has always had poetry and storytelling in her life. Through her culture’s traditions and by using the library, she has always had a consistent relationship with poetry. Overcoming life’s obstacles and surviving college in Saint Paul helped this relationship flourish.