NEAR KAYENTA

           

                                    Through the scarlet bandana,

                                    red feather of Agathla Peak,

                                    numinous women walk near hogans.

                                    Hair like paint strokes brushed on Black Mesa.

                                    Sandstone cheekbones shade dispirited trances,

                                    plush mescal lips, eyes of coral,

                                    hearts of lodestone, indigo sky of pollen,

                                    sway dance of Mexican Water.

                                    They dissolve in a silent wind

                                    towards sheep hard as rocks.

           

                                                            -- C.S. Cholas, 1976, Kayenta, Arizona