by Don Thompson
Wind and rain have blurred the pictographs
with spit and a calloused thumb,
trying to rub them out.
And yet remnants persist, ghostly
hematomas that must’ve been lurid once,
and minimalist fauna,
a few daubs so dead-on a child could name them:
turtle, condor, antelope.
Coyote eating the moon.
Those and that weeping, hairy man
everyone calls Sasquatch
with shoulders hunched and claws pendant,
an image too far gone to scare us,
even if enhanced—a bugbear manqué
shedding tears of chagrin.
Editor’s Note: For background, please consider reading about the history of the Tule River Tribe of California, particularly the stories and legends related to the Painted Rock site. The photo of Painted Rock above comes from the Southern Sierra High Adventure Team’s website.
Don Thompson has been writing about the San Joaquin Valley for over fifty years, including a dozen or so books and chapbooks. Recently he has been concentrating on the Yokuts, the indigenous people of the region. For more info and links to publishers, visit his website at www.don-e-thompson.com.
I’ve seen Asian type elephants on and of rock from tip of Baja to Lucerne Valley so far. I expect to find evidence maybe into Canada. I believe, don’t know for sure, there were travellers from Asia, particularly India, China and Egypt around 2000 years ago.