WEBVTT

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So I'll read this poem.

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It's called
"Afternoon in Yootó."

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Yootó is the Navajo
name for Santa Fe.

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"The Santa Fe afternoon
is warm and bright.

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The dogs are delirious
to be outdoors.

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They prance about,
panting loudly.

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Simmer down, guys, I say.

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They don't have to
wear jackets today.

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Once my husband said they were
embarrassed to wear jackets.

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I never saw an
embarrassed dog, I said.

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He just smiled.

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A few months ago on
another warm afternoon,

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my mother sat on the
comfortable old couch

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in front of the wood stove.

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The stove is in the
center of the house

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where it is dim and cool.

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After straightening the
kitchen, I sat beside her.

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Aw, I said, leaning against her.

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This means tell me stories
or tell me what's going on.

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"T'áá 'ákódí," she said.

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That's all.

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We both laughed.

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I adjusted the pillow behind
her head as she leaned back.

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I slipped my hand into hers
and leaned against her.

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Her hands are warm and thin.

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Unlike mine, she has
slim, elegant fingers.

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She patted my hand.

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And we were silent.

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We were alone in
the quiet house.

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Across the road, a cow bellowed.

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And somewhere by the wash,
dogs were barking playfully.

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One sounded like a puppy.

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Here in the living room, we
rested, closing our eyes.

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Then she said with her eyes
still closed, let's sing.

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So I started a song.

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And she joined in.

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I sang close to her
so she could hear.

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We sang several songs.

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Then she started one.

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And I was quiet.

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I don't know that one, I said,
after she raised her head

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and looked at me.

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You do, she said.

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One time I heard you singing it.

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She kept on singing.

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And after a while, I
got it and we finished.

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[? Hooa, ?] she said
like she was tired.

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She fell asleep.

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I kept holding her hand
and leaning on her.

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I wanted to sleep but couldn't.

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But it was just she
and I sitting together

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on a late summer afternoon.

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Her cat Kitty Ba
jumped on the couch

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and stretched out beside us.

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Kitty Ba and Mom always
napped at the same time.

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Today in Yootó, there's snow on
the highest peaks of the Sangre

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de Cristos, the Mountain
of the Blood of Christ.

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The bright snow is startling
across the deep blue sky.

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It's warm enough to
use the screen door.

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The afternoon sun slants into
the kitchen in thin lines.

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The dogs sleep on the
warm tile squares.

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It's mid-October in Yootó,
where beads of clear,

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cold water form an ancient
necklace that encircle

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the Sangre de Cristos."

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