The songs of the Great Lakes..

April is poetry month. This is new poem number twenty three.

The song of the Great Lakes..

(Today we give thanks to the Creator for all that we have been given.
Noongom nimiigwechiwi’aanaan Gizhe-Manidoo gakina gaa-miinigooyaang.

We give thanks for the sky above and the earth below.
Nimiigwechiwi’aanaanig giizhigo-manidoog ishpeming dash gaye akii-manidoog anaamayi’iing.

We give thanks for the rising of the sun and the moon.
Nimiigwechiwi’aanaanig mooka’amowaad giizis gaye dibiki-giizis.

We give thanks for the beauty of our surroundings.
Nimiigwechiwendaamin gakina ginaajiwang miziwegamigong.

We give thanks for our parents who brought us into this world and taught us about life.
Nimiigwechiwi’aanaanig ingitiziminaanig gaa-ondaadizi’igooyaang gaye ombigi’igooyaang.

We give thanks for the relatives who shared our childhood with us.
Nimiigwechiwi’aanaanig indinawemaaganinaanig maamawi-ombigi’idiyaang.

We give thanks for our friends who have journeyed along life’s path with us.
Nimiigwechiwi’aanaanig niwiijiiwaaganinaanig widosemidiyaang.

We give thanks for the laughter of the children.
Nimiigwechiwendaamin de-baapiwaad abinoojiinsag.

And we give thanks for the love in our hearts.
Nimiigwechiwenadaamin zaagi’idiyaang.

Mii i’iw.
And so it is) Unknown writer)

My dear Ojibwa grandmother, they took her from her reservation in 1912. Cut her hair, change her name and she was not to speak her language. She did not forget the Ojibwa way. She taught me and my sisters/brothers to dance the circle dance. In kind dreams. I can hear her chanting. She loved the lakes and the forest.

1- Waabishkiigoo Gichigami (or Waubishkego Kitchigummeeng) was her favorite. She took me and my sister to Lake Erie. I remember her eyes as me and sister dance with the kind lake. Now I take my grandchildren to fish and swim. My grandmother called Lake Erie. The quiet water.

2- Bkejwanong ( Where the water divide.) My nearest lake to me is Lake St. Clair. I call her the calm lake where I can gather my mind and thoughts. She was named by the French Explorer Ren-Robert Caveliar. He named her Lake St. Clair for the Saint Clare of Assisi. Saint Clara Del Pobre would be happy to know. She is remembered.

3- Lake Superior, Gichigumi. My favorite lake. The largest of the lakes touching Michigan. I call her the angry water. Always moving and always dangerous. Lake Superior is kind to you. If you respect her. She is the coldest of the four lakes touching Michigan. She is so beautiful and so powerful.

4- Lake Huron, Lac Des Huron. Naadowewi-gichigami. I called her the beautiful lake. I love her dark water and she was kind to the Ojibwe Nation. Her wealth of fish and clean water. Was a great blessing.

5- Lake Michigan is named after the Ojibwe word “mishigami” which means “large water” or “large lake. I like the clear water and the rocky beaches of Lake Michigan. My grandmother called her the wide lake, the deep lake. Lake Michigan was the home for many great tribes. That are no-more.

Today our leaders, do not care for our water, they do not care for the great forest and they do care for the free animals.

( When the bear and wolf are gone. Men will follow. )

( Nature does not need us. If men are all dead. She will be reborn more beautiful and stronger.)

( We must be kind to the forest, respect the water and be kind to each other. We are dancing on the edge. If you destroy the great forest for new cities. If you poison the water by pollution and if we live in a world. A eye for a eye. One day. Too late to repair. We will cry tears for the gift of nature and the murder of children.)

Thank you for reading.

Dancing Coyote

Author's Note

Thank you for reading.