Jornada Del Muerto

GEOGRAPHY LESSON:      JORNADA DEL MUERTO

           Jornada del Muerto
          Rhythm of the life beyond.
          Sierra Oscura
          Leak of lava perfume.

          Chupadera Mesa
          Sorrel sky to the north.
          White clouds search the ground
          Like bounty hunters.

          Malpais – badlands of shaman
          Coiled into black snakes.
          Tangled coil of Gyp Nama
          Low to the sand.

          Desert spoon, sotol, like torches
          Woven into mats or brewed into stool
      
          White Sands
          Ancient footprints and shallow seas
          Buried under gypsum dunes.

A red-tailed hawk hangs high above.
           An Apache pocket mouse skitters
           Across the vast whiteness below.        

          Carrizozo
          Carts sink in the sand.
          Trucks roll all night long.

          Tres Cerros
          Lasso of Apache fibre,
          Rugged as the flight to Mexico.

          Mescalero
          Tapestry of forest, birds, spirit.
          Monoliths to Victorio, Nana, Geronimo.
          Others.  All gone now.

          Jicarilla Mountains
          Ghost Towns hide in the shadows:
          White Oaks, empty stables,
          Barren brothels, buried outlaws
          Faint murmurs of cattle rustlers
          Caught in the breeze by vacant churches.

          Jornada del Muerto
          Rhythm of the life before.
          Legends of lives left in dust.

          Some nights
          Children hear voices in the wind:
          Victorio, Nana, Geronimo.
          Lozen, Dahteste* the Two Spirit women.
           Góyąń, "the one who is wise".
          Others.  All gone now.
          Mothers hush the whimpers.

                   -- C. S. Cholas
                 Mescalero, NM, 1971 and 2022

*Ta-DOT-se