Richard Vick
In the Huts of the Tribe
In the huts of the Txuhamei
A fever burns twisting faces jerking limbs
A fever that came with those who brought
The bullet and took the gold.
In the huts of the Txuhamei
The coughing roars and the fires die.
With arrows against enemies known
They can fight but against this wracking
Of the body they are helpless.
A young mother holds her son in her arms
Coughs black blood - the wild sickness -
As he sucks on her withering breast.
They dig the hole deep, lay them in.
They throw her pot into the hole
Then afterwards they do not see it.
They throw in her mat
Then afterwards they do not see it.
They throw in her comb
Then afterwards they do not see it.
Her man, silent, cracks three gourds
Lets the pieces fall into the hole
He scatters a handful of un-spun cotton. No
more.
Page(s) 170
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