Dedication in memoriam: for Kyōzan Jōshū Roshi

Background and acknowledgment: Walatowa is the word in the Jémez language for Jémez Pueblo, New Mexico, one of nineteen traditional communities in the southwest United States that include several of the most ancient sites of continuous habitation (to the present) in North America. 

The generating idea of this work is a song composed by Frank Fragua, now among the ancestors of present-day Jémez Pueblo.  In the early 1980's, Mr. Fragua was generous to share with me a glimpse of the tradition of song renewal that he helped to pass down within that community. This work also commemorates my deep respect for and enduring gratitude to him.

With thanks to Rev. Seiju Bob Mammoser for photo of Virgin Mesa.

Toccata Walatowa II

You wander the streets
No shoes on your feet
You ponder your fate
Is it too late
For another new start
 
Slipped through the cracks
Now you’ve run out of slack
Better watch your back
Ahh…now you’re on the run
Never thought it would come to this 
Left you fallen through the cracks
Where do you go
God only knows

When everything comes apart
And the sky falls
And the ground wants to swallow you whole
What wrong with the world
It’s forgotten you heart and soul 
Heart and soul

As we wait for the world 
Yeah, we weep for the world
Yeah we wait for the world…
To grow, oh no

It ain’t happening anytime soon
Looks like we’re on our own
While the country pulls itself apart
Why…must we cause such suffering?

As the sun wakes up again
Just another day 
Where’s there no pretend
Find a way to numb your head again
Fighting your demons again
No one’s coming back
Nothing changes

You’ve been left behind 
Out of time
Out of mind
We must be out of our minds  
A land of lost souls
The system’s gone out of control

They wander the streets
With nothing to eat
They ponder their fate
Is it too late
For another new start
Slipped through the cracks
Now you’ve run out of slack
Better watch your back

You’re a veteran 
Tent cities everywhere
Never thought it would come to this
Ahh….come to this
How did it come to this?
Ahh…we need a better way
A better way

Toccata Walatowa II

Soko Paul Humphreys

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