6x9 paperback, 264 pages with brush calligraphy illustrations
             ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Singing an Epic of Peace
Of the Deity that speaks,

From unending hidden crevices
And wide-open gathering places,
And from the central pillar
That spirals through us each—
Without cease
With devoted ease.

If I fail, sing another song—
If I succeed, sing along.

Singing an Epic of Peace
Beyond the cloak of nations and generations
Before and after the war-torn differences
Of opinions and dominions
And so, Homage To Thee Within…..

* * *

Awhile back, you believed you had it made, had figured out the proper
obeisance to the distant god…. until the spindly, green sprout shot up
from the seedy ground on a day when your mind was forlorn on past
loves, and broken promises, and unanswered prayers. Then, and just
then, your head turned ‘just so’, your heart opened ‘just so’, your feet
tickled ‘just so’ on the
dew-drenched grass…. and that wobbly, little green sprout,
barely of motion shouted silently and broke the faade of
knowing too much, too little, sending you into reels of
amazement, and a different kind of knowledge only gleaned from sheer
experience, from simply knowing that the force from the ground is within
you as well, leaving you to wonder….
   why am I here?
   where shall I sprout my once-bunched tendrils?
   when shall I send forth for my little love affair?
   how shall my green stem help to awaken another?
   and though my feet remain planted to the firm,
     yet flaky ground—
   who pushes my spirit air-born further and further
     from the sacred dirt?
   what becomes of me now that I no longer hurt?

Now that the Spring of radiant Illumination shines,
Now that the benevolent cleansing rain has purified,
Now that our song of peace has begun.

***

1st – 1787– DELAWARE – THE GRANDFATHERS

THEE very first state, DELAWArE,
from Delaware bay and river,
named for Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr:
but history adapted—is the real Indian giver.

Delaware Indians is the English name
for a tribe here long before Europeans arrival;
with dugout canoes and bark-covered long houses, LENNI LENAPE
“THE PEOPLE; Genuine, Common, real, river PEOPLE”—
                       well-managed their own survival.

The Delaware river rolled through their lands
what are now parts of Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Delaware, Ontario, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa,
   New York and New Jersey, speaking different dialects of Algonquian...
LENNI LENAPE—the Unalachtigo, Unami, and Munsee.

Unalachtigo “people near the ocean”, totem turkey;
Unami “people down river”, totem turtle;
Munsee “people of the stony country”, totem wolf:
all have overcome many a hurdle.

How telling of the first state’s name,
(a misnomer of “The People’s” territory,)
attributed to a namesake ‘Lord of the War’
(nothing personal, sir) and all that stealthy glory.

You could stop right here and still know the gist
of the following verses of historical rhyme,
but the names and the people and their pathways worth knowing
are listed below if you find the time.

The LENAPE now primarily in Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Canada
after 130 years of moving westward and northward again and again,
also known as “The ORIGINAL PEOPLE”,
“Grandfather” and “Men of Men”.

The LENAPE creation myth reportedly depicted
with etched pictographs on bark and sticks,
picked up on Earth near flowing waters—
creation ever-burning on spiritual wicks,

also currently in Kansas,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ontario,
covering a range with a warbling sound
akin to the little birds called vireo.

To numerous tribes they are the Elders,
worth learning of, if you bother—
for if given the chance would you not care to know
the story of your dear Grandfather?

© 2023 by Walter E. Harris III.