The songs of seasons

A Native American tale.

                                The song of fall

Warm days, cold nights.
Create an restless passion.
I can hear the whisper of the wind
on a solitary hill.

Old Mother Nature is calling for aid.
The water is sick with pollution.
No great forest for the animals to live and roam.
Poison is in the air.
Killing man and the trees.

The song of fall.
Sweet death begins.
Leaves turn the trees to artwork.
The splendor of the of the change in season.
Leave the wise in envy of the great gifts of nature.

I find a solitary spot and burn some sage.
I pray for Nature and man. I say out loud family and friends names.
I drink a beer for my Soldier friends lost in war.
I pray to dance  with my elders one day.
It is a beautiful evening.
Calm and quiet.

     Song of Winter

The earth seem bare and a wasteland.
The green earth turn to white.
Snow and cold is necessary for many plants to grow strong.
In the Winter was the time for the Elders to gather with the children.

They would tell great stories of great deeds and accomplishments of men
and woman whom lived in ancient time.
Us children could feel the free wind.
We could see big herds of buffalo roaming the land.
We vision a great Nation of people.

My Grandmother would tell me.
"We must beckon the ghost of the great spirits on a full moon night.
Allow the moonlight and Great Spirit to heal the poor men and woman
lost in the destitute of drugs and alcohol."

She would burn the sage around us.
Her  hair long and unbounded.
She would speak with lovely and enchanting Ojibwa words.

"I pray for a good Spring.
I pray for my children to be able to run free.
I pray no walls or blockage of their path."

     Song of Spring

Sweet and wonderful re-birth of the Earth.
The white snow dispersed and the new buds of life appear.

The Earth seem to speak.
New hope and possibilities are here.

The  Elders would gather planning a new harvest.
The young people begin to dream of warm days and long nights.
Tire spirits are coming alive.

The Spring Pow wow is filled with strong hope and new dreams.
The Ojibwa Chief take the sage around the circle.
Blessings to  all who came to celebrate friendship.
A few white and black men and woman come to the celebration
of a new season.
They understand all people are one.

The Ojibwa Chief tells everyone.
"We are one people.
We are brothers and sisters on different roads.
But one day we will end up on the same road.
Let's dance together as brothers and sisters. "

The drums begin to play.
Black, white and red walk together.

I walk with the Chief.
He tells me.
"We must be one. Will take the four circles of life to repair this world."
With tears in his eyes. He whispers.

"It is too late for many of our brothers. So many animals and plants
are gone.
I pray for this generation to find the right way before there is nothing left."

              Song of Summer
Long days and beautiful nights allow the heart to be bold and strong.
The men are drinking.
The woman are having great conversation.

The Elders sit with the children.
He tells them of the bear, the wolf and the eagle.
"When the bear, wolf and eagle are gone.
It will be the sign man is on his last road.
We must hold on to our land.
For the sake of the bear, the wolf and the Eagle.
The animals are our brothers and sisters.
When the sea is dead and the animal are gone.
Man will be next to follow."

He lights the sage. He walks around the children.
He does a silence prayer.
His tired eyes worry for the children.
What is left for the children?
The white man had reached their goal.
Destroy all that is beautiful.

                   Coyote
                 Oct2010




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Author's Note

Any error. Please tell me. Never too old to learn. A story gather by 52 years of living.

Reviews

[Warrior]

Great story telling. This did justice in the realm of getting the message across. Great message. There's lot of times where a story can have a great message to aim for, and have a lot of under lining things but then no one gets it, and if no one gets it, then the point has failed. But in my opinion this did well to get the message across. You made it clear, which is why I think it's good. Keep up the good work.

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for reading and the comment. I do appreciate.

[12.09am]

If you have the chance to look at my short story " Games " , id really love some feedback from you !

[china]

The whole piece is beautiful and I find no mistakes. I love the family history, the talk of each season and nature.

[Robin]

excellent song of the heart ~ I have shared in the burning of sage ~ nature will have her way ~ those of nature will then have their home returned ~

[Ed Hart]

between us and the chicken, there's not another creature that s***s where it eats

[Liza]

an inspiring piece written by someone who is in tune with nature and our ties to it
urging us to take a look out our home (earth)
brother and sister (all people)
and see how connected we are
because the garbage and waste stems from our disconnection

[Amy Bumpas]

This is a beautiful, ritualist poem about sacred
traditions, and the lives that have changed
within so.
In this line: I pray to dance one day with my elders one day.
("one day was used twice, and just one of them would
suffice.)

I also think you used elders too many times, and may substitute
another word.

[Star Wolf]

Beautiful, simply beautiful yet there is sadness here too. Life is that way. With the pain comes glory, with the ugly comes beauty, with life there is death and so on. But we, all people, can fix some of the things if we so desired as a whole.

[The Analog Kid]

Nice imagery of your cultural background. The Native American always were great stewards of this Earth. I like the cycle of the seasons. It feels very unifying throughout. Some things will never be the same and some animals are gone forever. Too bad we can't strike an HONEST balance between industry and nature. This will never happen. Too much corruption on both sides. Wish we could return to simpler times. Nice write Coyote.

[Wildfleour]

I did not find any mistakes.

What a bittersweet story. My favorite part was about your grandmother.