From the Other Side of the
Right on top of Lyman Lakie,
Under shadows of the pine tree
Lies the dorm of mighty Goodhue,
Home of jocks and pimped freshman,
Home of the Mell and all his
angels,
Home of keggers, sweaty bodies,
Beach boy tunes and drunken flamers.
To this bastion of young manhood,
Rugged tower of chauvinism,
Come one day in midwinter,
Seventeen young female squaw-types,
Brought their clothes and books and posters,
Records, bedspreads, blankets, pillows,
Moving into first floor Goodhue
With their sex to make it co-ed.
Signs there were on the doors there
Saying “Welcome, squaws, to Goodhue”
And the bathrooms were bedecked with
Blue and pink and purple flowers,
Scatter rugs and pretty pictures
Warriors all lent squaws their muscles
Moving heavy trunks and boxes,
Up in morning not with sunrise,
But with singing from the shower,
Loud male voices from the shower,
Loud phone ringing from the hallway
Hollering for warrior wanted
(He lives way far down the hallway
Answerer too tired to fetch him,
He was up till wee small hours
Talking outside some squaws’
doorway.)
Stumble down the hall to breakfast.
Never use those plastic curlers,
Never wear the robe all quilty,
Never put on warpaint no-how,
Put on smile instead, for warriors.
Warriors too tired to see it,
Most are buried in their papers,
Snoring in their cups of coffee,
Stinky, icky Goodhue coffee,
Making all the warriors wish that
They had not got out of bed yet.
Up the
hill in cold and windy
Weather,
up the hill to classes,
All
the cold and freezing squaw-types
Wish
for tunnel straight to Olin
“Ah
well” sigh the freezing squaw-types,
“Anything
for co-ed housing”
Now
instead of having tunnels,
They
must face the windy weather.
When
spring comes it will be better
No so
cold and wet and muddy.
There are irksome things in Goodhue
Squaws find little closet space,
Warriors play loud music always,
Water fights and conversation
Late at night to stop one sleeping
Vi in kitchen, horrid coffee,
Long cold way to talk in darkness
No bathtubs save proctor Jimmy’s
No hair dryer there in Goodhue.
It is strange to see the warriors
Walk the halls in towel & u-trow,
Wet of hair and dripping body
Footprints wet on rug in hallway.
Squaws seem not afraid of warriors.
Wander in the halls in jockshirts
Popping in to say hello to
Warriors booking late at night there,
People talk to one another-
Ohmygod, Communication
It is good to see the warriors
Have them living close at hand there,
Reservation social problem
Not all solved by co-ed dormie,
But at least on first-floor Goodhue
Things are happening with people
Making better lives for warriors,
Squaws and all on Reservation.
Gerre Goodman