Berkeley, CA
jwellspo
albuquerque winter
by Judy Wells
1980
3rd edition
Hawkeye Press
Albuquerque, New Mexico & Canyon, California (3rd edition)
52 pages
5.5 x 8.5, stapled, paperback
$10. 3rd edition (supply limited)
Cover art by Juanita Sanchez.
Book design by author.
Collector's item. Contact jwellspoet@yahoo.com.
NAVAJO WOMEN
Purple, turquoise
and red figures
are moving down the hill
Navajo women
are moving down the hill
They sit in clusters
the old women
listening to speeches
on Grants
and the uranium mines
while we, the women
the Anglo women
dress
in faded blue jeans
and flannel tops
This is a serious rally
The Navajo women’s
husbands
are dying
Are dying of lung cancer
Their sons
will die
Will die
of lung cancer
in 20 more years
This is a serious rally
Why do I
in faded blue
jeans
keep staring at those
Navajo women
as if they held the secret
in their jewel-like
skirts and shirts
of turquoise
and red
and purple
and green
Why do I
keep staring at those
Navajo women
holding black
umbrellas
to ward off the sun
Ward off the radiation
Ward off those
powerful rays
I need a black umbrella
for my eyes
to shade myself
from the powerful women
these Navajo women
in their turquoise
and purple
and red
and green
in their power
In their purple
and turquoise
and red
and green
power
Mt. Taylor, New Mexico
April 29, 1979
Copyright 2015 by Judy Wells.
LABOR
She was a woman
who dealt
with the task
at hand
So when the man
came to her
and said:
“My wife
is having trouble
giving birth.
15 hours in labor.”
And he ran
his hands
through his thick
black
Indian hair
and seemed
in despair.
“It is my fault”
he said
“Yesterday, I
tightened the bolts
too hard
at work.
It is my fault
this labor.
I tightened
the bolts
too hard.”
“Let’s not lose
any time” she said
“Let’s get to work”
said this woman
who always
dealt with the task
at hand
And they began
dismantling his house
Unscrewing hinges
from doors
and cabinets
and windows
Loosening
lightbulbs
and faucets
Unbolting
table legs
and chairs
Taking out
tiny screws
from light fixtures
and tea pots
and alarm clocks
(In ancient times
the Indian women
unbraided
their long black
hair
and unraveled
a newly woven rug
while awaiting
the birth of a child
In ancient times
the Indian women
unbraided
their long black
hair)
At 3
in the morning
their labor completed
the woman
who dealt
with the task
at hand
and the man
who tightened
the bolt
too hard
rejoiced
The child
was born.
Copyright 2015 by Judy Wells.
LIKE JUBA
I am listening to jazz
pleasant music
at Le Club de Elegance
Albuquerque, New Mexico
At our table
Juba’s stoned
shakes her dangling braids
and yells
“Talk to me”
“Talk to me”
to electric guitar
and organ
And organ
talks back
and electric guitar
talks back
and Juba’s in heaven
Mildred sings the blues
and we wail and scream
but still
I am listening to jazz
pleasant music
at Le Club de Elegance
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Now the organ takes off
on “Misty”
but not the way
you hear it in supermarkets
and suddenly
something’s happening
I scream
“I’m getting misty”
That’s all I can say
but that’s not all I feel
Jazz provokes desire
Somewhere inside me
a knife blade
sheers away
some protective layer
some no nonsense wall
and desire
floods through my veins
No—
Hold it back
Shove it back
but the music goes on
as desire will go on
I go with the music now
Shake my body
in purple pants
and purple shirt
I throw back my head
and show my teeth
like Juba
Copyright 2015 by Judy Wells.
Copyright 2015 Judy Wells Poet. All rights reserved.
Website designed by Jannie M. Dresser.
Berkeley, CA
jwellspo