Carlisle

Posted by Brad Osborne on July 12, 2021 · 14 Comments 

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Ripped from the arms of their nation

The youth of an older civilization

Sent off to government schools

To learn the white man’s rules

And how well the white man lies

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Ancient language torn from their heads

Proud native beliefs, forcefully bled

Burned the animal skins that they wore

As long straight hair fell to the floor

Oh, how quiet a great culture dies

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As if the land was not enough of a theft

We sought to strip away anything left

Replacing the beauty of tribal names

With biblical ones like John and James

Conquerors see it as compromise

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And learn they did the white man ways

The hate, the pain, all the taken aways

In unmarked grave, another sadly placed

Death delivered and defined by lesser race

And far to the west, every mother cries

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Filed under Poetry · Tagged with civilization, culture, identity, indigenous, language, lies, lost tribes, nation, native american, poem, Poetry, reservation, school, stripped, white