Men Have Named You

From the first crack of your smile,

Gathering brush to keep warm on a frigid night,

Fever in the moaning morning sun,

You live on and your eyes are like lakes between netherworlds.

They hunch around fires and tell stories of you,

Passed down from family to family,

House to house, changed a little each time,

Until you are the mystical mystery of the century.

They laud you, yearn to be like you,

The kids spin on their backs on the floor laughing,

They love you so much, they want to be like you,

They just want to be in your presence, hero.

When they were told that you herded the buffalo,

Over the cliff to the giant fire, cook out and mass feed,

The massacre was an awe of an experience, providing a village,

With food and tools, hides and strength and warmth for winter.

A miracle warm blessing to our people, a sign of good times,

The message was that we can be free and happy, blessed and healthy,

We can be in control if we look from a new perspective,

Our attitude changes everything and the cold ground is good to see now.