Ancient Pueblos

….some of our past survives....

Ancient Pueblos

 

I walked across the sands

in silence, alone;

the sun’s heat elongated

my shadow,

reminding me the journey was torturous.

I follow the dry riverbed

leading me to the ancient pueblo, Halona

and its ghost,

my ancestors.

 

Even before the pueblo thrived,

the People planted corn.

raised rabbits and sheep;

danced around the Kiva’s fire,

and told their origin stories.

As the wind blew, I saw ghosts

chasing Coyote,

while listening to Kokopeli’s flute

that whistled through the mesas.

 

Long, long, long ago

my ancient ancestors

knew the importance, and

nature of balance;

knew the way wind blew and

influenced the river’s flow.

 

My ancestors vanished

long before the White Man came.

Perhaps they knew what was coming,

the imbalance.

Though sometimes at night,

ancient ghosts roam,

as the wind blows their anger

through the mesa;

the Moon rises,

its beams reflect off pottery shards,

scattered near the Kiva;

whirlwinds kick up dust

as Kokopeli’s flute can occasionally be heard,

and Coyote barks and yelps at the Moon.

 

 

                      Now……

Nothing……

                      Not even the air,

is the same.

 

Aztec Warrior/redzone 10.12.19

 

NOTE: many hundreds of years ago, one of the first People to live in the Southwest built marvelous Pueblos. Some of these are known by their names: ”Halona; Hawikuh; Matsake; Kawkina; Kianawa; Kiakima…  Perhaps, one day human beings will know, honor and celebrate the contributions these Pueblo People made to who we have become.

Author's Note

....thanks for reading..

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

We should celebrate them and their contributions and we can learn a lot from the Natives, their culture and way of life. I went last year to the cave dwellings in Colorado and was fascinated by that. I read on the Pueblos and I like to visit their places. Your poem is a beacon for others to follow and a medicine to heal the wounds of the past.

[redzone]

thank you, thank you Sami for your kind words and for sharing your visit to the cave dwellings in Colorado... perhaps one day, if I can even save up enough money, I would love to spend time in the southwest areas.... visit the Pueblos, talk with people, wander around the mesa's... one of the things I have learned in life is that if you don't know your past, you won't know your future... this is not living in the past, but learning from it so as to do better, change our human nature... writing and reading about this area and it's people has helped my do just this...

thanks again Sami....

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! I love your perspective on things. Very wise. I would like to do that too. You are welcome Redzone.

[Einstein Noodle]

beautiful tribute and awakening words sir! i lived briefly in Taos NM in the wild crazy 60s ... we had friends in the Taos Pueblo .. one of whom was the Medicine Man ... in English named Tell Us Good Morning :) he was something else and was ancient even then .. i don't know why he took a shine to us but my partner and i were invited to dinner at his home .. i will always cherish and remember it .. and the few stories he told ... we were pre-taught not to speak until he had spoken and indicated that we may ... the silence we sat in was very comfortable .. unlike most other silences among people together ... hmmmmm so many great memories sparked ... thanks for sharing this important historical/spiritual tribute ... i hear you!

[redzone]

as Sami Kahil often says, "WOW", what a grand comment and thank you so much for sharing this memory... you and your partner were so fortunate to have this experience sitting, eating and listening to this Elder/Medicine man... I am sure he saw in you the worthiness of giving you these stories and gifts, that you would honor them and take them inside you, protect and use them for your life... and to spread…

I am glad that I posted this poem and that it allowed you to share your experience with me and all who read your comment... your comment is so much better than the poem... one final thing, you can learn a lot listening to silence, it's the Navajo Way... thanks again E...

[redzone]

ooops, sorry Sami I misspelled your last name... it's Khalil.... I am so sorry for this...

[Einstein Noodle]

:) your poem is wonderful! we often wondered why he chose us ... he visited out place several times .. we decided he liked the young lady that lived with us ;) Cisco and I were pretty ragged at the time ... wild 60s you know :} Tell Us told us of the entry into manhood practiced by his people ... to make a bow and arrow and hunt and kill a mountain lion .. the poignant part of the story was when he showed us his bow, arrow and lion pelt hung up on one of the adobe walls ... it is a blessed and growing experience to honor our histories ... yeah .. Sami is quite to poet isn't he!? :)

[Dave Brown]

that ancientness has all but disappeared but to some minor extent that aura still remains along with the occasional coyote yip
I walked with you along that dry riverbed

[redzone]

in the 4 corners area of the southwest, there are still elders who keep alive the old ways and also teach the young braves who are willing to listen... but the belegaana world and culture has wiped the minds of many of the native people.... we should do our best to preserve and honor these traditions.....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, these are the people who really new the question of balance...not only within their own spirits...but they knew how to live with the land...and off of the land...in a harmony people now are so far from that the music is grating...
j.

[redzone]

thanks Jacob.... there is very little 'harmony' in todays world both within and among the human community as well as the human community with the natural world around us.... this imbalance is threatening our very existence... where is the music Jacob??? we use to have music didn't we???

[barleygirl]

This is the VERY BEST poem you've written (that I've read so far) which addresses & shares the Native ways. You really capture the poetry of how they live. Even the names of the pueblos are so lyrical in sound. I dance to Kokopelli every autumn since we've had 8 out of the last 10 years being drought dry in CA. When we get early rains (rare & precious), I feel K's spirit dancing among the raindrops. I'm totally there with you, feeling every detail of your poem, beyond the things I've mentioned (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[redzone]

it's humbling to read your kind words Margie, thank you very much....