Geronimo
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No one knows the meaning of the word Geronimo. Some think is was a mistaken cry heard when Mescalero attacked. Mescalero and Geronimo sound very similar. But Mescalero was a decent man and his name, Geronimo is now called out when one needs to feel bravery. He once said: "I was no chief and never was but because I had been more wronged than others this honor was conferred upon me and I resolved to prove worthy the trust."
He also said: "I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is but One God looking down on us all."
These are not the words of a blood thirsty mad man.
His name was Mescalero Chiricahua,
Which means The One Who Yawns.
But fate had greater plans for him,
And not much would he yawn.
He was a great leader and Medicine Man,
Of the Apache Tribe,
Until there dawned an awful day,
That forever changed his life.
He did go a-trading with others from his band.
While he was gone the soldiers came and killed all in the camp.
His mother, wife and children died, killed by Mexican soldiers.
Wild with grief he swore revenge and he became a lamp,
To any who would stand with him and aide them in their plight.
He'd fight the white man tooth and nail to keep his tribe alive.
The U.S. and the Mexicans tried to wipe them from the land,
But they determined not to die, in spite they would survive.
He was known as a mighty warrior,
Fighting the U.S. and Mexican military.
He earned the nick name Geronimo,
And his very name was scary.
He always avoided capture though they fought with all their might.
He was the final Native American leader to surrender to the U.S. military.
The last twenty years of his life were spent,
As a POW in solitary.
Copyright © Judy Ball | Year Posted 2021
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