Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE PAINTED GOD, by MAY MCKEE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE PAINTED GOD, by                    
First Line: I am a sioux!
Last Line: I have spoken.
Subject(s): South Dakota


I am a Sioux!
My fathers were the rulers of Dakotah;
The Pale Faces have made their children slaves!

The White Man came for Gold!
We did not want him!
He took our lands.
We did not wish to fight!
But were we squaws?
Refuse protection of our homes? Our country?

He saw not the luster of the sunset;
He saw Gold!
He heeded not the frenzied winds—the passion tears of heaven;
He scorned the bleeding hills—the death-cry of the pines;
Laughed at their wounds—mocked at their agony;
He wanted Gold!
Did he keep peace? His treaties?
No! He wanted Gold!
What law have I broken?
Is it wrong for me to love my own?
Is it wicked in me because my skin is red?
Because I am a Sioux?
Because I was born where by fathers lived?
Because I would die for my people and my country?

They tell you I murdered Custer.
It is a lie!
His eyes were blinded and he could not see.
He was a fool and he rode to his death.
He made a fight, not I.
Whoever tells you I killed the Yellow Hair is a liar!
I want only this remembered;
I was the last man of my tribe to give up my rifle.
I have spoken.





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