(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.

Posted in: History, Poetry