7 miles from Cortez
by t. zoEy benally

seven miles from Cortez we spiral, curve along fingerprints
black rubber smooches black asphalt, decomposed eons
different forms of prehistoric molecules touch, spark memories
extinct volcanoes, elemental times, penetrating gas, vapors, metals
salts & all powerful gravity still tethering creatures to earth

seven miles from Cortez is the juniper, cedar & pine
gateway back to another time, younger than highway
atoms, not as ancient as oil and hydrocarbons
igneous rock cooled enough to be handled by symbiotic
communities, humans, shaped into blocks, walls, wide homes

seven miles from Cortez, to the south and seven generations
fast forward to when pit bulls and rotteys fill Navajo corrals
how long until butchered dog swings by one leg from the tree?
Naahwiilbiihi has slipped from his prison in our minds, and again
owns whole families, slaves, who insist that yes and no both mean yes