Hummingbird Dance

The Mother's Song

It is so still in the house.
There is a calm in the house;
The snowstorm wails out there,
And the dogs are rolled up with snouts under the tail.
My little boy is sleeping on the ledge,
On his back he lies, breathing through his open mouth.
His little stomach is bulging round...
Is it strange if I start to cry with joy?

—Peter Freuchen excerpted from Book of the Eskimos

from a pause for beauty (Rod McIver)