Betatakin Ruins (1250-1300 AD)

High on the Colorado Plateau

perched in a perfect sandstone arch

lies the Anasazi ruins named Betatakin

or Kawestima where steep steps lead

one upward next to dwellings and past

grain storage chambers as well as a

square not round kiva, all overlooking

a stream-fed forest of pinyon, juniper,

aspen and scrubby oaks nestled tightly

in a sandstone canyon where, for fifty

years, Hopi ancestors grew crops of

corn, beans and squash and used the

forest plants for medicine like pinyon

pine sap for cuts and wounds and brewed

fine teas from Ephedra shrubs with thin

green stalks rising into the desert sky

where rare storm clouds gathered to water

the crops and hopes of these people whose

presence is so firmly felt in nearby spirit

drawings of deer, fire and flutes suggesting

a touch of music floating in Arizona desert winds.

By Richard F. Fleck