DiaBLOGue

Kayenta

Summers we paint relocation houses 
on the res, beige and grey, 
“Navajo white/’ our brushes dripping
Dutch Boy on red Arizona earth. 

Moon Phases: Childhood

when it topped the mountains 
the shell of moon laid down 
            such plenty 
                        all over the fields 

Better than Sheep and Goats

The Savior counsels his followers to “[a]sk, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matt. 7:7-8). 

As a young boy I believed in these words with such steadfast sure ness that I actually formulated a list of wishes to bring before the Lord. The adversity of life, however, has taken that simple child-like faith and dashed it against the rocky shoals of reality.

Psychology as Foil to Religion: A Reformulation of Dualism

I think about religion and psychology all the time. They call to mind a huge quandary based on what appear to be irreconcilable dichotomies: faith versus empiricism (the subjective versus the objective); sin or evil…

“My ‘Word of Wisdom’ Blues”

My dear granddaughter, Dolly Sri, I knew you would cause me problems the first time I held you in my arms. My anxiety became real when I saw you win your first gymnastic meet. It heightened as I watched you walk across the stage as a junior prom princess.

Father Sky/Mother Earth

I am turning the irrigation water 
Into my garden 
It’s two in the afternoon 
The reddening tomatoes jerk up, widen their eyes

How She Comes

Like a storm rowing in. All around tree limbs stagger,
weeds lie flat. Wind and sun like familiars, 
canyons nesting in the shadows. Bright feet 
never touching down, while the air boils behind her