the kodak hula show

34 ANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM QUARTERLY 14(1)

POEMS

PERSPECTIVE(images following the 1987 annual meeting ofthe Society for Applied Anthropology.Oaxaca, Mexico, April 1987)

The winds of OaxacaBlow only at sunsetLaying a gentle shroudOver the daily struggle. . . .

Sunrise. Light rising fast.Warmth flooding in.Overlooking turquoise-orange sky,Blood magenta flowers.Desert dryness, awake with life.

Mist on the valley.Circle of mountains.Mixed sounds of city and country.Birds, and the ever-present bell,Calling the forever faithful to mass.

Strength moves thin bodies;Campesinos drive oxenThrough yesterday's soil.Women pass easily down sand streets,Baskets resting on a tightly wound cushion of tradition

Wood smoke settlesOn lengthening shadows.Lined hands work steadilyShaping corn into sustenance;Never breaking rhythm from time immemorial.

Night time. Darkness cloaks ruins.Full moon is rising.Mother of pearl light shinesChill, through ancient lintels.Adobe houses guard exhausted sleep.

The winds of OaxacaBlow steady at sunsetShedding a healing warmthOver my self-made struggle.

Jeanne M. SimonelliDepartment of Anthropology

State University of New YorkCollege at Oneonta

Oneonta, NY 13820-1370

THE KODAK HULA SHOWChiefs and chiefesses once

so proudClench pearl teeth against

camera shuttersAloha-shirted tourists miss

withering looks

Hula hips shake out rageMemories of illustrious, feathered

royaltyFlicker in deposed eyes

Mobs snap demonicallyKinder than their forebearsImporters of bibles and clap

Sun focuses on "Blue Hawaii"Saved from Madame Pele's taboosPiqued, she vents fiery belches

Dancers shed grass skirtsfor dungarees

Warriors trade spearsfor down payments

No longer innocent or fierce

The photo urge satisfiedSated with Polynesian soulsHordes hasten to ravish

the sand.

Barbara Foster62 Barrow St. No. 1

New York, NY 10014