there! there!
I shout
pointing out
there in the scrub of the high plains
to see a rock brown man
blanket over shoulders
herder of a large flock
she sees her first shepherd
live & counting
though she doesn’t understand
my excitement
seeing him doing his job
miles from anywhere
keeping the link alive
between us him our ancestors
who came this way
herding sheep goats cattle
feeding the village the pueblo
the tribe fed in winter
her not understanding
demonstrating how easy
that connection is lost