The Algonkian gave thanks
Long before pale faces
Stepped down on berry-lined shores.
Long before Squanto and Captain John
Touched tongues, met minds
To be of one heart.
Wompanoag celebrations
Numbered six upon the
White man's calendar.
They did not choose
........the cycle of one sun
To mark their blessings.
The reap of each season marked
........the blessings of one sun.
They grazed like the buffalo,
Slept like owls,
Fished like bears,
Gathered like squirrels,
Killed like cats,
Danced like horses,
And loved like night.
They could smell the pheromones
On the skin of strangers.
They saw hollowed eyes of
Fear and desperation,
Sunken by hunger and filled with wonder
That the turtles, deer, and fish
Were their brothers.
They knew no other way but
To share the Maple Dance,
......sweet grasses and corn,
Warn of the poison in veins
Of imposters bearing colorful fruits.
Newfound friends, growing stronger
And wiser with each passing day.......
Until the great invitation of thanks.
With puffed sleeves and buckled hats,
They watched their guests arriving
Not two by two, four by four, but
Generations in the nineties.
Young tribesmen were sent back to bring
More deer, wild turkeys, fish, beans,
Squash, corn bread with soup, and berries.
Like the loaves and the fishes,
Like a wedding in Cana, the cornucopia.
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No mouth went unfed and all were thankful
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Until Philip's War.
Celebration! Yes, but it knows no mere bounds, white, red, or blue by the milky sea.
Supurb poem, Marty.
Peter
Thanks, Peter.
Marty
Marty,
your portrayal of the Indians/White Man and the Thanksgiving is beautifully done.
Gwyd
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. (Aristotle)
bump, for the holiday
Les
When the white eyes got here there were few wars in which people actually got killed. There were no taxes. The men hunted and fished all the time. The women did all the other work.
White man said, "We got to fix this situation boys."
geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzeeeeeeee we're dumb.
Like the pome,, like the holiday,, don't care much what we did to the indians.
Me either, Terry.
A holiday bump.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mary.
Les
You too, Les.
Mary