Native American Poetry~
Earth Teach Me to Remember
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth Teach me caring as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness as dry fields weep in the rain
Ute, North American By~ John Yellow Lark
Will Ye Walk With Me, Willow John?
Will ye walk with me, Willow John? Not far;
A year or two, at ending of your time.
We'll not talk. Nor tell the bitter of the years.
Maybe laugh, occasional; or find a cause for tears;
Or something lost, could be, we both might find.
Will ye set a spell with me, Willow John? Not long;
A minute, measured by your length on earth.
We'll pass a look or two; we both will know
And understand the feelings; so when we go
We'll take comfort that we kin the other's worth.
Will ye at our leaving, Willow John? Just for me.
Lingering reassures and comforts us who part.
Memories of it help to slow the quickened tears.
With recalling of you, in the later years;
And soften, some, the haunting of the heart.
From: The Education of Little Tree, By Forrest Carter