Annette Morgan
SING ME A BASKET
“Clan Bruce” This basket was entered in the 2007 Cherokee Trail of Tears Art Show and Sale. Photograph ©Copyright 2007 by Annette MorganLittle basket I sing I sing
Little basket be strong
Like my warrior’s hands.
I sing like grandmother I see
Her face turned into the sun
She sings “little basket come alive”
With the river tumbling by her side
She weaves the strands little basket
She sings too for a good catch she sings
For a good crop she sings for a baby
To fill her belly and her basket
She sings for plenty she sings for love
Little basket I sing I sing
Be strong
Be forever full
©Copyright by Annette Morgan (Date Unknown)
Author’s Note: I wrote this poem when I started to learn this style of basket weaving. This basket was recently accepted into the Thirty Sixth Annual Trail of Tears Art Show and Sale, sponsored by the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc.
The piece submitted is a contemporary Oklahoma double wall basket titled “Clan Bruce”. It is woven in the traditional style into which is woven my interpretation of a modern Clan Bruce tartan to celebrate a blending of cultures.
This was my first submission and although it didn’t win any awards, I am pleased to say that it was accepted into the show and is on display at the Cherokee Heritage Center, Cherokee Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma until May 27, 2007.
Annette: May 22, 2007