Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE CHIEF'S PRAYER AFTER THE SALMON CATCH, by ANONYMOUS First Line: "o kia-kunae, praise!" Last Line: Priae! Praise! Praise! Subject(s): Fish & Fishing;native Americans;salmon; Indians Of America;american Indians;indians Of South America | ||||||||
O Kia-Kunæ, praise! Thou hast opened thy hand among the stars, And sprinkled the sea with food; The catch is great; thy children will live. See, on the roofs of the villages, the red meat drying; Another year thou hast encompassed us with life. Praise! Praise! Kunæ! O Father, we have waited with shut mouths, With hearts silent, and hands quiet, Waited the time of prayer; Lest with fears we should beset thee, And pray the unholy prayer of asking. We waited silently; and thou gavest life. Oh, praise! Praise! Praise! Open the silent mouths, the shut hearts, my tribe: Sing high the prayer of Thanksgiving, The prayer He taught in the beginning to the Kwakiutl The good rejoicing prayer of thanks. As the sea sings on the wet shore, when the ice thunders back, And the blue water floats again, warm, shining, living, So break thy ice-bound heart, and the cold lip's silence Praise Kunæ for life, as wings up-flying, as eagles to the sun. Praise! Praise! Praise! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE OLD INDIAN by ARTHUR STANLEY BOURINOT SCHOLARLY PROCEDURE by JOSEPHINE MILES ONE LAST DRAW OF THE PIPE by PAUL MULDOON THE INDIANS ON ALCATRAZ by PAUL MULDOON PARAGRAPHS: 9 by HAYDEN CARRUTH THEY ACCUSE ME OF NOT TALKING by HAYDEN CARRUTH AMERICAN INDIAN ART: FORM AND TRADITION by DIANE DI PRIMA TIS A LITTLE JOURNEY by ANONYMOUS |
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