Sheep along the road, an old man with a cane.
Goats along the road, the old man with his cane.
No herd dog on the road, the old man with his cane.
Bells tinkle on the road, the old man limps along.
Sheep and goats, goats and sheep,
one old man, dusty, thin.
Sheep and goats, one old man,
slowly, slowly, down the road,
around the bend, they are gone.
Wind blows through the canyon,
roaring, whistling, squalling,
winding through the quiet.
Footsteps in the canyon,
slapping, tapping, crunching,
through the crust of quiet.
A car heard from the canyon,
rolling, humming, whining,
way up on the road,
framed against the sky.
Up the road, around a bend,
rolling, humming, whining ends,
bringing back the footsteps,
bringing back the wind,
bringing back the quiet.
This is one of a series of poems written by Ron Singer during his time living with the Navajo reservation, otherwise known as the Dine, or Navajo Nation. See other poems about the Navajo Nation here.
This reservation straddles the US states of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
Sheep on the Navajo Reservation, the Dine