The emergence in Chicano poetry of the language experiments and folk wisdom of the oral traditions of barrio cuentos, corridos, dichos, and actos reveals that this literature is neither fleeting nor novel. Jose Montoya's "Resonant Valley" exemplifies the Chicano's preservation of ancient wisdom and practice in new formal experiments and contemporary settings. The sentiments of different sets of dichos emerge in the poem as the basis for the conflicting positions that make the poem possible, as well as the means of their resolution. (Author/AA)