Arrowhead Hunting

Delicately crafted Indian arrowheads,
razor-sharp flint projectile points,
primitive stone bullets,
hidden artifacts from long ago.

Eventually, they call out to our curiosity
on hot and steamy summer mornings,
inviting us to freshly plowed cornfields,
where they’ve patiently slept for millennia.

You know they’re out there,
hoping to remain buried secrets, yet
wishing to be found, revered, and held excitedly
in eager young boys’ sweaty palms.

We hunted them as faithfully as
the ancient “arrowhead” men,
who hunted prey with bows and spears
in long forgotten grasslands and forests.

Something powerful awakens inside you
in realizing you are the first person
to hold this cool, jagged-edged stone tool
since it was created 2,000 years ago.

Suddenly, you become aware that
nothing is really lost in our vast universe–
It is simply waiting for an inquisitive hand
to reach into the dark earth and bring it back to life.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2018

Poem

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Lamoureux Avatar
March 13, 2024 at 10:06 AM
My mom was a collector of Native art, baskets, pottery and soapstone carvings. The arrow heads made it to me with a number of carvings and pottery.
Iannone  Avatar
March 13, 2024 at 11:58 AM
Lucky you! We own a few soapstone carvings. For a time, I enjoyed rock and stone carving with hand-held and power tools.
Lamoureux Avatar
March 12, 2024 at 6:03 PM
I have a collection of arrowheads. It’s amazing what they could do with limited tools. I like how you put the boy in the picture connecting the past with the present and the potential thread to the future that the boy will hopefully have.
Iannone  Avatar
March 13, 2024 at 6:39 AM
I had a small collection as a boy. My paternal grandfather had a wonderful collection from his garden. Many of his projectile points were from the Archaic period in Native American history. My undergraduate degree is in archeology. What do you know about your collection? Thank you for your comment, Richard.
Sands Avatar
July 28, 2019 at 8:10 PM
Interesting to read. Well done :)
Ashford Avatar
July 28, 2019 at 11:46 AM
Hi Don, I like this poem a lot, it has a great theme and you explore it well. I do (with great respect) have a couple of suggestions: I would try cutting stanza 1 and 5, and see how it reads for you. I feel they might be redundant. They explain, and don't show much. Just my opinion though, and the work itself rocks!
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