Ka ne huni into ne inia aniat ne na ne welamsisimneKia ne ka ne huni into ne inia aniat ne na ne welamsisimneKia ne ka ne huni into ne inia aniat ne na ne welamsisimneKia ne ka ne huni into ne inia aniat ne na ne welamsisimneAyaman ne seyewailo saniloata fayalikun weyekaiKia ne yevuku yolemta wikoli ne yo yumatakaiYevuku yolemta vaka hiuwai ne yo yumatakaiKa ne huni into ne inia aniat ne na ne welamsisimneNever again I, will I on this world, I, around will I be walking.Just I, never again I, will I on this world, I, around will I be walking.Just I, never again I, will I on this world, I, around will I be walking.Just I, never again I, will I on this world, I, around will I be walking.Over there, I, in an opening in the flowered-covered grove, as I am walking.Just I, Yevuku Yoleme’s bow overpowered me in an enchanted way.Yevuku Yoleme’s bamboo arrow overpowered me in an enchanted way.Never again I, will I on this world, I, around will I be walking. Don Jesús Yoilo’i Yoem Pueblo May 9, 1981
Yaqui Deer Song
Feature Date
- November 3, 2020
Series
Selected By
Share This Poem
Print This Poem
From Yaqui Deer Songs/Maso Bwikam: A Native American Poetry, by Larry Evers and Felipe S. Molina.
© 1987 The Arizona Board of Regents.
Reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press.
Don Jesús Yoilo’i (1904-1982), was born in Potám, a small Yaqui village outside Sonora, Mexico. He fought in the Yaqui Battalion during the Mexican Revolution; afterward, he worked in Arizona and Texas on railroads and in cotton fields. Around 1920 Yoilo’i returned home and collaborated with the elder deer singers in the Rio Yaqui area; he later mentored others in the way of the deer songs and pahko arts.
Selected as one of Oprah Winfrey's "Books That Help Me Through"
United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo gathers the work of more than 160 poets, representing nearly 100 indigenous nations, into the first historically comprehensive Native poetry anthology.
"This anthology is revelatory and stunning.… It shows the remarkable strength and diversity of Native poetry, which vitalizes all of American poetry. It is essential reading."
—Arthur Sze, National Book Award–winning author of Sight Lines
Poetry Daily Depends on You
With your support, we make reading the best contemporary poetry a treasured daily experience. Consider a contribution today.