Strange now to remember the feeling
As he made his way to the squared circle
Decked in the regalia of a Plains warrior,
Ready to conquer the grand caricatures 
He was so generously allowed to defeat

(Though, of course, never to be draped
In the glittering gold of a championship
So, even his greatest moment of victory
Would leave him grasping at the wind
As though we needed reminding:

Don't get it wrong. 
You're mid.
Sit down.
Be humble
Say ‘Thank you’)

But, for that brief moment, as he strode
From the locker room toward the ring
Head high, eyes blazing with pride 
It seemed he could overcome the odds
And maybe the rest of us could, too

And his challenger…hailing from Haines, Alaska (now making his home in the red dirt country of Oklahoma) standing 5’8” and weighing in at 145 lbs soaking wet, he is the Lingít Linguist, the Indigenous Auteur, the Native Wordmonger…Shaun Jex!

Shaun Jex is a poet living in the Oklahoma City area. His writing has appeared in publications like Bull, Cowboy Jamboree, and others.