A Designated National Park

A Designated National Park
by
Simon Ortiz


Montezuma Castle in the Verde Valley, Arizona.
DESIGNATED FEDERAL RECREATION FEE AREA
ENTREE FEES
$1.00 FOR 1 DAY PERMIT
MONTEZUMA CASTLE ONLY INCLUDES PURCHASER
OR OTHERS WITH HIM IN PRIVATE NON-COMMERCIAL
VEHICLE
$0.50 FOR 1 DAY PERMIT
MONTEZUMA CASTLE ONLY INCLUDES PURCHASER
IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLE


AUTHORIZED
BY THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND
ACT OF 1965

This morning,
I have to buy a permit to get back home.
Birds,
they must have been,
these people.
"Thank you for letting me come to see you."
I tell them that.

Secreted in my cave,
look at the sun.
Shadows on sycamore,
a strange bird and a familar bird.
River, hear the river.
What it must be,
that pigeon sound.

Hear
in my cave, sacred song
Morning feeling, sacred song.
We shall plant today.


PRESS BUTTON
[on a wooden booth]
"For a glimpse into the lives
of these people who lived here."

Pressing the button, I find
painted sticks and cloth fragments
in a child's hand,
her eyelashes still intact.
Girl, my daughter, my mother,
softly asleep.
They have unearthed you.

59TH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AT THE FIRST SESSION,
BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON
ON MONDAY, THE FOURTH DAY OF DECEMBER
ONE THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND FIVE.


AN ACT
FOR THE PRESERVATION OF AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

And a last sign post quote:

BUILT SOMETIME BETWEEN
1200 AD AND 1350 AD
ABANDONED BY AD 1450.

s/The Sinagua Indians.

SEE MUSEUM FOR MORE INFORMATION


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From Woven Stone by Simon Ortiz, University of Arizona Press.
© 1992 Simon Ortiz