Stands Alone, Faces, and Other Poems

Abstract

Stands Alone, Faces, and Other Poems, Patrick LeBeau's first collection, is a self-reflective work on identity, ancestry, and family relationships voiced in three parts. "Stands Alone," the first voice heard, is the singular "he"—an entity lost in a sea of loneliness, loneliness that freezes growth and stagnates creativity. It places the self in a dizzy reality of emotions and knee-jerk reactions, cut off from the community. "He" wanders, seeking connections to land and community, but often finding confusion and despair and, occasionally, clarity and humor. Alone, he fends alone and suffers decisions made with only his counsel. The voice in part two moves the "he" to embrace community and a place of identity exploration and discovery. A language is learned. A language of stories that enables him to link his own personal history to a larger Native community and experience. Through this found relationship with ancestry and family, "he" becomes receptive to spiritual teachings and cultural practices. Part three sets "he" free to consolidate the "pieces" of his memories and experiences into one, large creative net of experimentation and form. Desiring inclusion of personal history and reflections regardless of notions of good or bad, positive or negative, "he" finally settles on a skin he can live with and within.