Until His Red-Heart Weeps

Until His Red-Heart Weeps In his forest, the Indian avoided the trappings of the white men; There his footfalls upon soft and clean, untouched virgin ground; A place where his tired soul can finally reach ever deeper within; Nature then generously gifts him its wonderful, wilded sound! Each morn, Big Turtle rears its big, bright and shining head, Casting light for his keen eyes to find game to provide his needs; That hidden meal on hooves resting in its distant undercover bed, In the thick of it, far out in the heavy brush and tall weeds. As he travels down the long and winding fast river courses; He scours the terrain for sites to set his Native water traps, Day is hot and he races on without benefit of white man's horses, Through and over tough obstacles never seen on white man's maps! O' how his big heart so fervently loves this huge wilded place, Where his freedoms are only limited by gathering his family's food; He roams in Nature with no scary war paint upon his dark red face, And now, his Native spirit and heart are in a calm and serene mood! Unaware of the sad fate future holds for his family and his tribe; This warrior wrestles only with meeting survival's high cost, Soon evil white men will arrive to steal, lie, cheat and bribe, Until his red-heart weeps, family dies and all is tragically lost! R.J. Lindley June 15th , 1989 Note: 1a. http://www.native-languages.org/legends-turtle.htm Turtles play positive roles in the folklore of many Native American tribes. In the creation myths of some East Coast tribes (such as the Iroquois and Lenape), the Great Spirit created their homeland by placing earth on the back of a giant turtle. This is why some contemporary Native Americans refer to North America by the name "Turtle Island." Turtles are a symbol of the earth in many different Native cultures. To Plains Indians, turtles are associated with long life, protection, and fertility. In some Plains tribes, a newborn girl's umbilical cord was sewn into a figure in the shape of a turtle to ensure her health and safety. In other tribes, turtles are often associated with healing, wisdom, and spirituality. 2b. http://www.littlewolfrun.net/WyandotLegends.html Big Turtle, A Wyandot (Huron) Legend 3. Scour | Definition of Scour by Merriam-Webster www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scour transitive verb. 1a : to rub hard especially with a rough material for cleansingb : to remove by rubbing hard and washing. 2 archaic : to clear (a region) of enemies .