Naad33'
ARETHA MATT
A summer morning
In the kitchen, women gather
welcomes warmth
and sometimes a mellow wind through the
of naad33' , the corn,
opened doors
in white flour sacks
of eastward facing homes.
and empty coffee cans.
yellow tidbits
The early sun
The women
casts long shadows westward
follow the deafening sound
behind the aged hogans,
and billowing smoke
of the tractor engine
behind decaying houses,
hand built from dirt and ancient timber;
to a large open field
prepared for produce.
finished with rotting wood and sawdust;
and behind collapsing trailers,
manufactured with fiberglass and foam.
lightly blankets their faces
as they drop four kernels
The clatter of a worn tractor engine
into the ground
breaks the early silence
with every four steps
and bursts of rusted smoke fill the crisp air.
and sing silently
to themselves.
The aged man checks the beaten gauges
to see if they are working
and then attaches heavy, earth-searing
blades
2021 RED MESA REVIEW | 25
The sacred dust
to the red, rattling creature.
