The Ghost Dance Part IV

IV The Holiest Dance Come out and dance, children of the New World. Come out brothers, sisters, old and young. Come dance and call back your dead. Wheel and turn in long slow movements, Passing through one another like eagles in flight, Sailing over the endless plain. Dance in rhythm, dawn to sunset Wearing the sacred Ghost Dance shirts Flapping in the grey cold mist lifting As the sun climbs into the bluing skies. Dance in the magic shirts their bullets won't penetrate, Your protection from the great New God, Who has forsaken His White Ones, adopting you as His own. He has given them over to his enemies For they have betrayed HIm, Given His Son over to His enemies who turned from His words. Now He walks with us to make us strong again, We His children now. Dance, Dance, Beloved Ones, All the day and into the night Calling to the Dead, the Gone-Before. They stand close to us now, - can't you see them? The shadows of yesterday drawn close by your hope. Can't you feel them gathering close by the fires As the days close out in wild, smoking skies As you dance together, calling their names, Calling them back to the light, To the dreams and fears and loves of life While the stars come out to keep their watch Bejeweling the night with their cold sweet shine As you dance and dance and dance Until exhaustion claims your bodies with a faint. No matter: the good times come and with that knowledge The sweet dreams go on, even in your collapse. Dance, children, dance all together, safe in the magic shirts Adorned with strange magic symbols Our Fathers' Fathers knew so well. Their power returns with your belief; The Whites are afraid, for once. They don't understand this, they feel something is wrong, But they cannot grasp what is happening. That must be our secret - they'll find out soon enough. When their well-deserved ruin overtakes them. Enough for now to be patient and tread lightly near them, For they are easily moved to destroy anything that puzzles them too much. Dance and Dream. Sing and grow stronger. Sing sweet, wheeling under the stars: Father, have pity on me, I am crying for thirst, All is gone; I have nothing to eat. Wovoka's spirit will hear and smile. Sing on: The Father will descend, The Earth will tremble, Everybody will arise, Stretch out your hands. The Spirits hear. Can you feel them gathering? The crow! Ehe'eye! I saw him when he flew down, To the Earth, to the Earth. He has taken pity on us. Throw back your hands and laugh. Soar with joyous thoughts. I circle around The boundaries of the Earth, Wearing the long wing feathers as I fly,. The Whites are afraid. Their time is passing. See their faces, pity them. Iyehe'! My children - My children, We have rendered them desolate. The Whites are crazy - Aheyuheyu! Yes, children, the time is come at last. Dance and rejoice; dance them into Oblivion. The Game, our Dog Soldiers, all the true men Are returning to us. The old ways shall be ours again. Dance and rejoice! This Earth, our Love, Will be ours again. Ours forevermore. Dance.