The Ghost Dance Part II

2. Waiting for Wovoka For some time the old ones gazed that way, Then came a seer, A man named Wovoka. Who told them he had heard their voices calling in the night to him, That voices spoke to him of better times soon to come, That might be brought forth by a special way and a special dance That would bring to birth a stronger magic than that of Progress, That would dispel the evil changes. They listened and they took heart With the pitiful fervor of the desperate. He taught his new believers his way and his dance, And for a time, a fragile time in their trembling twilight They feltl the spirit of a former time lying still upon their hearts, A thing beyond the shallow grasp of youth. They sit stonily, unmoved in their fogs, remembering tales. When no one looks, They turn their failing eyes back to the red mesas To recall the Dance of the Ghosts.