Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE PEACE STATUE SPEAKS, by J. R. DOWNEY First Line: Come, brave warriors, men of valor Last Line: Comes from worship of the sun god. Subject(s): Native Americans - Wars | ||||||||
Come, brave warriors, men of valor, Men who gave, but gave so vainly, Sit around our city's campfire, Sit and listen, sit and listen. Listen while the mighty chieftain Tells you of an old religion, Of the worship of the Sun God, Tells you while he smokes the peace pipe Of a better kind of valor. How his tribesmen found the peace-time Far transcending war-time glories. As you sit and listen, listen, Though your ears are deaf forever, May the message thus ascending, As the smoke does from your campfire, Reach the hearts of living people. Sit and listen, sit and listen, Listen to his words of wisdom. Why have you fought, my brothers? Why have you made war One with another? You are brave, you have courage; The glory of tribe is your motive. You give for An ideal, your life. And what a poor privilege When all that you gain is some bright plumage, A few feathers with which to color your headdress. The scalps that you wear on your belt from your carnage Can only revive in your minds the painful stress Of the combat. This, oh my brothers, how gainless As compared with the feeling of peace that men know When they can look one straight in the eye and can press The hand as a neighbor. Then it is that the glow Of the heart transcends all. You forget your bow And your arrows, your feathers. Instead a sense born Of peace overshadows and you feel there is no Gain from the fighting. It is then you will be torn With emotion and you know that you have been shorn Of your valor. You are vanquished. All is gone, And all that is left is your spirit. You are lorn From the loss of the forest, your temple. Alone With your thoughts, it must ever be yours to go on. Gone the tepee and the children. And she with whom You were mated is gone. The great Sun God whose vision, Inspires you, looks down and regrets that this great doom Is upon you. The Great Father would end your gloom. Get out your pipes, oh my brothers. Let your campfire Be lighted, and in the ascending smoke will loom Large the meaning of peace. Why then should you desire More than your neighbor? What, but greed, is the vampire That steals away the quiet and sets you aside From your brother? What have you gained by your empire? Nothing. It is gone. Your real life ebbs as the tide And you have life no beacon, no Sun God to guide You. You are drifting to a rocky unknown shore. Where there can be no peace, and where you will abide Alone, fated, forgotten, unloved evermore. Men of Wisdom, men of vision, Who have reached a higher status Than the reason of the heathen, Heed and harken, heed and harken, Harken to the simple teaching Of the Chieftain of the Redmen. He who ruled our hills and forests, Ruled our land of lakes and rivers, Ruled our boasted Minnesota. Let us pay to him our homage, Let us profit by his wisdom, Profit by the picture painted Of a peaceful coming era Fraught with saner understanding. Let us learn then from the Red Man From his primal seat of knowledge Where unerring intuition Comes from worship of the Sun God. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A CENTENARY ODE: INSCRIBED TO LITTLE CROW, LEADER OF SIOUX REBELLION by JAMES WRIGHT ANNIVERSARY POEM FOR THE CHEYENNES WHO DIED AT SAND CREEK by LANCE HENSON REPORT TO CRAZY HORSE by WILLIAM EDGAR STAFFORD BALLAD OF THE SABRE CROSS AND 7 by IRVING BACHELLER GERTRUDE OF WYOMING; OR, THE PENNSYLVANIAN COTTAGE: 1 by THOMAS CAMPBELL GERTRUDE OF WYOMING; OR, THE PENNSYLVANIAN COTTAGE: 2 by THOMAS CAMPBELL GERTRUDE OF WYOMING; OR, THE PENNSYLVANIAN COTTAGE: 3 by THOMAS CAMPBELL THE GREY HORSE TROOP by ROBERT WILLIAM CHAMBERS HIS SAVIOURS WORDS, GOING TO THE CROSSE by ROBERT HERRICK |
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