‘Canyon de Chelly’: A Poem by James A. Tweedie

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Canyon de Chelly

Reflections of a Non-Native Visitor

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An updraft from the red-rock canyon floor
Blows through the mesa’s Piñon pine and sage
As ravens, wings outstretched, in freedom soar
Between the distant past and present age.

At night, Coyote and the owl seek prey
Beneath the Milky Way’s broad arching band;
While with the first light of the sun, Diné
Arise to thank and draw life from the land.

Yet deep within the crevassed canyon’s wall
The spirits of the Ancient Ones live on
Where voiceless fortress homes and kivas call
Us to recall what was, but now is gone.

And from the silent fallen ruins come
The silent echos of a silent drum.

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Canyon de Chelly: Pronounced “de Shay,” a canyon in Arizona.
Diné: What the Navajo people call themselves. Literally, “the people.”
Kivas: An underground chamber used by Pueblo men for ceremonies or councils.

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James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and three collections of poetry including Mostly Sonnets, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in The Lyric, Poetry Salzburg (Austria) Review, California Quarterly, Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online, Better than Starbucks, Dwell Time, Light, Deronda Review, The Road Not Taken, Fevers of the Mind, Sparks of Calliope, Dancing Poetry, WestWard Quarterly, Society of Classical Poets, and The Chained Muse. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.