Urban Indi Portrait 3, By Richard Wagamese

The poem “Urban Indian: Portrait 3” written by Richard Wagamese, shows how an experience in nature can help create a connection not only with nature but also with humans. The speaker remembers an old experience of his when he was paddling “..and he can still feel the muscle/ of the channel on his arm/ the smell of it/ potent, rich, eternal/ the smell of dreams and visions..” This feeling and connection has been kept within him and has helped him become who he is now as an adult: “..and heads down the stairs/ out into the street/ to find the kids/ he teaches to carve paddles now.” He may be far from that place where he once was, but he shares this memory to carve the paddles of a canoe: “..in the moonlight/ what he brings to them.” This reveals