Where They Cried

This is for my life long friend, spirit brother, and conscience. Not too long ago, in a letter, he reminded me of a story Grandfather told us when we were kids.

Driven out by greed
17,000 forcibly removed
Ancestral home left behind
Mothers consumed by grief
Elders fearful the journey
They could not make
Elders fearful care of young
Could not come

Prayers offered up
A cry, a plea
Give them strength
A thing to lift spirits
Something to help them along the way

Prayers answered
With every step along the way
From every mother�s tear
Falling to the ground
Sprang a beautiful flower

Seven bright green leaves
Wild Potato
Long Hair
Deer
Red Tailed Hawk
Blue Holly
Paint
Wolf
Adorn each stem

Five white tears
Grieving mothers shed

Yellow gold stamens
For the gold they took

Cherokee Rose
Cherokee Rose








There have been many songs about the Trail Where They Cried (the Trail of Tears). One stands far above all others in spirit and pain. John D. Loudermilk wrote both the words and music, and it was recorded by Paul Revere and the Raiders


Indian Reservation

They took the whole Cherokee nation
Put us on this reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife
Took away our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in Japan

Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die

They took the whole Indian nation
Locked us on this reservation
Though I wear a shirt and tie
I�m still part redman deep inside

Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die

But maybe someday when they learn
Cherokee nation will return, will return, will return, will return,
will return


Nv-wa-do-hi-ya-da! Tso-s-da-nv-tli, the Aniyunwiya nation will return�will return.

Author's Note

In 1838, the forced relocation of 17000 Aniyunwiya (Cherokee) from their ancestral homes over 4000 died of hunger, cold, exhaustion, disease and neglect, on the 1200 mile trek.

Reviews

[An Ordinary Woman]

I think I remember that song.

I feel this is a wonderful poem, I would not change anything about it Bob. Messages such as this NEED to be heard today. It is common place for important bits of history/heritages to go untold, what a shame for our younger generation to miss out on such important pieces.

I say excellent writing! Kudos!

[[untitled]]

Artistically presented. The long deep sorrow comes through both the poem and the blue of the artistic presentation. I wonder if this is the same Trail of Tears that Southern Pacific sings which I love? One thing that I know and I can say for sure. We as a nation will not get out of the ecological mees that we are in and that we have created without their help. Nice job Shadow Wolf.

[emmajoy]

This is tragically beautiful.

Tears sprang into my eyes... but so many, many more fell when while the relocation was taking place. What a terrible happening, how cruel.

(That sort of tragedy's still happening in certain lands, but, now it's called genocide.)

You've so finely constructed a post that's a mix of historical information with it's more than sadness and wickedness; mystery - in that the Cherokee Rose proliferates and... added your own emotions thrown in.

People need to be taught or reminded about events like this, they reflect Man's inhumanity to Man.

Thank you for sharing with a somewhat ignorant reader.

[Samuel Dickens]

That was certainly not one of the prouder moments in American history. I'll never understand how one group of humans can be so cruel and heartless toward another group. The trail of tears passed near here on their way to next-door Oklahoma. This part of Arkansas was indian territory, and I'm not even sure what happened to all of them. it's Tragic beyond words. Thank you for reminding us, ShadowWolf.