December 2023
Author's Note: When I was in high school in Gallup, New Mexico, we had an "extreme weather event" in the winter. The temperature dropped to -53 degrees (F), a record low that still stands. Even when the temperatures weren't that extreme, below freezing wasn't uncommon. Homeless people were especially vulnerable during that time and more than a few of them froze to death.
gallup winter
since the first insult
of taking land was not enough
alcohol was added to the stew
that western europe offered
original americans
i came much later to the scene
learned just enough history
to know of the long walk that
stripped the remnants of pride
from the navajo nation
replaced it with welfare
boarding schools
and pawn shops that would loan
just enough for another round
of stupor
that was the backdrop
to one of the harshest winters
anyone in gallup remembers
when the bitter cold wind
sliced through even the thinnest cracks
and johnny yazzie's levi jacket
was nowhere near enough
First published in as if a caress
©2023 j.lewis
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