The Chief

By: Patrick Barry

They say he could see a full mile on the horizon.
They say that he could smell the seas from the plain.
I’ve heard he could dance to the rhythm of a heartbeat,
And visualize true beauty in the rain.

Some say that he could listen to the breathing of the earth,
And that he’d been taught to read the sky.
I’ve heard that he truly understood the land,
And that he knew where nature’s secrets lie.

They tell of all his wisdom,
Of his face that showed no fear,
And when all the treaties were left broken,
He only shed one tear.

It’s sad the white man’s ways had finally taken their toll.
It isn’t right that The Chief is the low man on the totem pole.