After the Powwow, the Fancy Dancers Need to Get Clean, and: Overheard in a Self-defense Class Led by an Amateur Horticulturist, and: Love Story, with Compulsion

98 SHERMAN ALEXIE AFTER THE POWWOW, THE FANCY DANCERS NEED TO GET CLEAN We Indian boys showered in the rain, And used our own braids to scrub the stains. 99 SHERMAN ALEXIE OVERHEARD IN A SELF-DEFENSE CLASS LED BY AN AMATEUR HORTICULTURIST The thistle field Doesn’t conceal Because it’s born To wield thorns. 100 SHERMAN ALEXIE LOVE STORY, WITH COMPULSION I used to buy graph paper, and color in the squares, one by one. I knew a man who suicided his vision by staring into the sun. There are twenty-seven oranges and thirteen honeybees Pollinating beneath that tree. Dear wife, don’t fall asleep. There are only seven traffic lights And four stop signs between you and me. ...