Native American Poems

There is a Medicine Man

Who lives among the Shoshone

Quiet and alone

Feeling his power

In the sun

With the warmth it brings

He dances in the light of the moon

Sings songs

Brings peace to a lonely nation

He heals beyond his touch

His mind moves with his soul

Casting a shadow

Over the people

Who dance with him

Singing songs in the moonlight

Waiting for the warmth of the sun

To carry on

Medicine Man sings

The sun brings life to those

Who are not afraid to cry

A coyote came to my door

December

Wind blowing

Snow on the hillside

He looked tired and hungry

So I let him inside

Offered him a ham sandwich

But he wanted a toaster strudel

Cinnamon and sugar

He drank chocolate milk

Howled at the television

Until I changed the channel

Didn’t like National Geographic

A story about wolves

That’s my cousin

He told me

But we don’t communicate anymore

Too much distance between us

And not enough sheep to go around

I went outside

A full moon in the sky

I took a deep breath

And began howling

Crawling back inside

I saw the coyote standing

At the refrigerator

Would you like a toaster strudel

He said

The wind blows across the Wyoming plains

stirs dust

Sending it across 

sagebrush desert

Until it is replaced 

by the leaves of autumn

Soon winter will settle in

the wind will have snow

To blow around

sending cars off roads

and causing freezing temperatures

Sending bears inside

They will spend their winter in a cave 

away from the wind

The bear says

“Mankind can face the winter alone

I am only human in the summer”

It is the season for planting corn

Buffalo Woman moves slowly

She hears things in the wind

It whispers to her across the prairie

A spider dances in the light of the fire

It knows too well the sound of the wind

Buffalo Woman stirs her black kettle

Looks to the shadows for advice

But the wind will not listen

The trees sway in its visit

The ground shakes from the sound of horses

Soldiers on their way to a distant future

Buffalo Woman sees the seasons

They are fading with time

A spider hides in the rocks

The spider dance is over

The fire goes out

There is no moon tonight

All is silent but the wind

Buffalo Woman cries

It is the sound of tomorrow

It is the season for planting corn

Broken Promises

For: John Trudell

Broken promises

Faded dreams

You saw tomorrow

With the history of yesterday

Treaties on paper

Carried by the wind

Across prairies 

Where the buffalo used to roam

A culture placed in the back seat

Of a car driving down a one-way street

With no hope for tomorrow

Graffiti Man knows

But he is tired and worn out

Silence fills the air

That you breathe

Surrounded by

Broken promises

Faded dreams

They said their God

Walked on water

Our God is the water

It is not necessary for footprints

To exist on the water

For they will be washed away

Without a trace

Our God which is the water

Will last forever

And bring life to a thirsty earth

Making it green

Keeping it beautiful

And full of life

Standing Still Man

For: Joy Harjo

I see and feel

The warmth of the sun

The moon and stars

Fade as the sunrise

Moves into existence

Darkness now in the past

The earth stands still

Afraid to move

On its axis

I feel pain in my heart

History repeats itself

The earth moves

Beneath my feet

I cannot walk anymore

Too many clouds 

Fill my skies

I stop and hesitate

Unable to take that step

Into the future

Haunted by the past

Broken promises

Broken dreams

Broken treaties

Broken bodies left behind

In a world

Out of control

I am Standing Still Man

Bob & Virgil (Underground)

The Cheyenne Native American Tribe referred to a person who 

was an ideal warrior as a “Human Being”. This person could be 

trusted upon in any situation and had a strong sense of loyalty 

as well as much dignity. This person would never compromise 

their principles in the face of adversity.

For: Bob

He came from out of nowhere

On a sunny day in June

When the wind blew gently

Across the Wyoming Plains

He brought with him the baggage

Of a past he could not forget

The war in Nam was a shadow

But the darkness lifted

To the light of his mind

His mind was a symbol of freedom

As free as his soul

That drifted in the wind

His strength was in his will to survive

He was an oak

That couldn’t be moved

Dignity and trust were

Part of his existence

I learned to call him friend

I learned to call him brother

He was more than just

Another person

He was as the Cheyenne would say

A “Human Being”