Antonio Narbona was born
in Mobile, Alabama in 1773
when it was still part of
Spanish Louisiana.
There must be something
about some places that persists,
that gets into the blood.
In 1805, Lieutenant Narbona
led a troop of Spanish soldiers
up the north fork of Canyon de Chelly,
where they killed a hundred and fifteen
Navajo men, women, and children.
Took the thirty-three they spared
back to Chihuahua to serve as slaves.
At a big new grocery store
near the Canyon, in Chinle,
a leather-skinned man points
to his cap on which the word
Army has been stitched by a machine.
Says he's a vet, asks for money.
I say, me too and give him
half a sawbuck and half
a hoagie sandwich.
Two nights ago, after I got home,
the raccoons ate three newborn kittens.
Left their eviscerated bodies
on the driveway
next to the compost bins.
They spared one -or missed it.
Maybe they were satisfied
with just the three.
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