100%
by t. zoEy benally

his feet don’t really match his personality
man poured into size eight running shoes
mother earth replica perched on a spindle
i am impressed at the engineering of his ankles

she loves the secrets that he shares with her
spores released, snuffled out, truffle hints
she smiles eagerly into his face, and nods
watches for crowd reaction to his revelations

he used to hang out by Turquoise, Hogback’s
other side, zigzagged south & north, scared
many tourists, a good boy taking his medicine
stumbled through the Kachina’s dark mouth

she found him out there, moisture and color
dried out of him, mineral crust stains
forgotten doll, she cleaned & oiled, folded him
into a sitting position, placed on her shelf

Navajo sabbatical years he chortled, laughed
until it made him cough, snot bubble threatened
from his nostril edge, and that’s the only thing that
makes him stop, research finally complete, not put off

be it known this day...
by t. zoEy benally

we do not support women going to school
and we reject anything an "educated" woman tells us
because everyone knows that addled brained "little women"
don't really know what they are talking about

we do not support women working outside the home
and we do not recognize any contribution
made by these women, and any donations
will be accepted only from what the man earns

we do not support men micro-waving their own dinners
and we will comment at every public forum on the wane,
sickly pallor that thin children have, and we will
praise mothers whose children wear husky

we do not support children learning to sort laundry
and we will loudly inform them that this is not right,
advising them that when we were children our mothers
never asked us to do any of these things--your mother is lazy

we do not support atheists that watch television on Sunday
and we know that these heathens will not reach the same zenith
that we will, because we do good things
just in case, Jesus or God is in disguise, watching

we do not support instant mashed potatoes or soy products
and we will make faces when served beans with no meat,
because our heritage is based on stew potatoes, potato salad
Bluebird flour frybread, and Don Juan Onate's roasted churro sheep

we proclaim these things by virtue of the power
vested in us as defenders of the family unit, as upholders
of truth, light and wisdom, and as those actively working
to promote harmony and happiness everywhere

air traffic, no control
by t. zoEy benally

conversation waves disrupted my lunch
tuna salad sandwich, torn from thick plastic
preservatives sprinkled and stirred to keep
mold, fungus and other spoilers in check

digital exchange beamed along sight lines
towers squint at tower flashes perched on hills
skeletal cyber gods, fierce chitchat balls hurled
binary games of catch across red sand valleys

she told him about her day and asked him
if he paid the bills? NTUA money order provider
purchased from a trading post not the same
another, containing a whole other tuna sandwich

ma-yazh says it was probably a fax sent
from Chinle to Salt Lake City that messed up
her pancreas and mutated the insulin
a contract for carnival sewage, cotton candy thieves

acid reflux, heard about it on television
esophagus erosion, gully eaten, sand drops away
dirt road oxbows, trail thrown wider and wider
but i know it's all the internet chat room traffic

he said they don't need line of sight anymore
satellite beams can bounce, sift through yucca
inner-space, Navajo model code grasshoppers along
grazing land, zero-one, yes-no, on-off, stick-circle, earth-sky

finally tomorrow
by t. zoEy benally

my friend...
has a Magic Eraser
wipes oil abandoned by former tenants
but i wonder--where?
does it all go?
matter never created nor destroyed
human grease morphs, atoms shift
someplace skids are waxed
algebraic units bounce across equal signs
negative signs hitched
on their hips
fat babies gurgling for milk
alchemy removes what harsh
chemicals and words
Bureau matron hen screech
"what's wrong with you?!?"
Indian left behind
Affairs rubbed away
spit on a thumb
microscopic ink rolled with epithelial cells
message expunged
from a brown-pink palm

never fathomed by me...
by t. zoey benally

i can see into the future
through a Bisti crystal chunk
hoodoo shaded, untanned, cool

i look through 9:40PM eyes
still cold from the outside
ears still frozen, i listen

i see him still sitting there
unhurried, unworried
only my children watch clocks

i try to peel this future
dried Elmer's glue, cloudy film
pick edges, curl, from my hand-print

shared laughs & smiles, a separate world
bile pools at my jaw hinges
stomach growls, no leftovers

wrong pill, wrong rabbit hole
cut ropes won't let me go, unfree
i told him, don't bother, i'm no big deal

one word: grade
by t. zoEy benally

black asphalt dumped
mountain side cinched
black zig zag ribbons

white dashes dribbled
drool blips centered
chopped tape worms

asphalt frosting crusted
magma pools, 15% grade
8 meters per second squared

one word: mold
by t. zoEy benally

mold grows inside me
on spaces that should
be coated with red latex
love, black fuzz shoots
spores, seeds more rot

i wonder why i stay?
only to wish & cry for
something that has long
since collapsed, absorbed
by jungle, eroded rio banks

to die, decay, amputate
another small heart chunk
zombie fingers claw air
allegiance memories fade
and i need kisses no more

one word: claw

moose claw
by t. zoEy benally

tightly wound cat paw extensions
DNA probably instructed to change
hair weave patterns on the underside
he used a different knotting pattern
steadily decreasing number of knots
sha'shin, to make the basket neck curve
a comfortable slide up to female softness

tabby striped stretches, they say ants stretch
when they wake up, they said on the radio yesterday
i've never looked at ant leg ends, always assumed
flat table legs, but perhaps they have hands, fingers
spread apart, suck grease into chitin connections
then squish, and finger ends, perhaps armed
curl into dirt, soft decaying leaves, old cheetohs

"Moose" the official Navajo cat name
yelled most often from hogan and unlevel
trailer doors, unless you're yelling "Giddi!"
Moose's smooth muscles inhale, then
release, hydraulic oil drains back, underground pools
her thick unsterilized needle hooks, KOA cactus talons
iced with mouse blood, kitty litter traces, affectionately
dig-------into-------my-------leg

scrambled eggs, November 5th, 2004
by t. zoEy benally

four-four beats, bubble gum
framework propels stupid cupid
shrilly waves bounce off aluminum walls
instant restaurant, just add water

bleached high five, thin pink grins
sport Halliburton, blue mechanic collars
chew thick steak slabs, smeared with egg
"...everything alright honey?" pours coffee

Patsy yodeled crazy ensconces
perm frizz mopped waitresses
Route 66 kick memories, Elvis
pre-pelvis, 1950's Americana

Mama's starched checked curtains
cherries and milk, blood and Elmer's glue
her children are immune again, cure purchased
resistant to carbohydrates, cholesterol and bovine madness

man kind has risen again, adrenaline Rush
adipose filled bellies ascend, wax USA pride
shoulders broad from signs raised, hosannah
return of our king, bump-bump-bump

Manson morphs back to Monroe
black fades platinum, breasts fill
androgynous sci-fi horror lam
milk suckled, drilled and pumped

In God we Trust, global manifest destiny
cause you gotta have faith-faith-faith
they watch us with mirrors, rosy reflections
wonder when we will climb back down

muse, can you hear me now?
by t. zoEy benally

i regularly fall into monkey traps
closed fist an iron vice
greedily attached to delicious
nothings, raw brain on a half-skull
lured by my muse

i dutifully wallow in swamps
emotional misery mire
congealed oatmeal gradually crusts
hardens around subtle teaspoon waist
just for my muse

i eagerly jump into cinnamon volcano
flames, liquid hot magma
denatured DNA
life screamed out
beckoned by ambrosia eyes of my muse

just to feel

just to ride beside

my forever loved
forever hated

muse

i need feedback on this one... i was told it felt unfinished. so i took another whack at it...