uncle in the gleam

by Jalen Lee

pollinated fingertips of shidá’í

paint chapped corners of a mouth

speaking Chuska Mountain navajo

sonny boy somnambulist

dragged by the limbs

through future tense midnight

      im

                 hanging yaazh

                                                                                       hanging

my teenage indifference my

hushed lips breathe drink live

in the land of dying uncles

a landfill of tears immutable made flesh

releases dehydrated palm of missed call

with the lone daughter between 0 and 1

                             -you

         take care of-

dootł’izh light memory

of my uncles before

beneath a ponderosa pine tree

stew bellied sober        eating

to mend phantom future grief

nourishing the years that would

remain within them     forever

glittering memory of

a Toadlena home