Well, let's see.
I think I'll do a story, move into this book of poems
and do one other story.
This is my favorite, my favorite.
I'm just doing my favorite things.
I'll get to the poetry eventually, though--
well, what is more conventionally poetry.
This one's called "Toe'osh, a Laguna Coyote Story."
This is for Simon Ortiz.
"In the wintertime, at night, we tell coyote stories,
and drink Spañada by the stove.
How coyote got his ratty old fur coat,
bits of old fur the sparrows stuck on him
with dabs of pitch.
That was after he lost his proud original one in a poker game.
Anyhow, things like that are always happening to him.
That's what she said, anyway.
And it happened to him at Laguna, and Chinle,
and Lukachukai too, because coyote
got too smart for his own good.
But the Navajos say he won a contest once.
It was to see who could sleep out in a snowstorm the longest.
And coyote waited until chipmunk and badger and skunk
were all curled up under the snow.
And then he uncovered himself and slept all night inside.
And before morning, he got up and went out again,
and waited until the others got up before he came in
to take the prize.
Some white men came to Acoma and Laguna a hundred years ago.
And they fought over Acoma land and Laguna women.
And even now, some of their descendants
or howling in the hills southeast of Laguna.
[LAUGHTER]
Charlie Coyote wanted to be governor.
And he said, when he got elected he would
run the other men off the reservation
and keep all the women for himself.
One year, the politicians got fancy at Laguna.
They went door to door with hams and turkeys.
And they gave them to anyone who would promise to vote for them.
On election day, all the people stayed home and ate turkey
and laughed.
[LAUGHTER]
The Trans-Western Pipeline vice president
came to discuss right of way.
The Lagunas let him wait all day long because he
is a busy and important man.
And, late in the afternoon, they told him
to come back again tomorrow.
They were after the picnic food that the special dancers
left below the cliff.
And Toe'osh and his cousins hung themselves over the cliff,
holding each other's tail in their mouth,
making a coyote chain, until someone in the middle farted.
And the guy behind him opened his mouth to say, what stinks?
And they all went tumbling down like that.
Howling and roaring, Toe'osh scattered white people
out of bars all over Wisconsin.
He bumped into them at the door until they said excuse me.
And the way Simon meant it was for 300, or maybe 400 years."
OK.
[APPLAUSE]