These are the woods of the Poweshieck, chief of Mesquakie, the Red Earth People
The remainder of his tribe lives in Tama County now, north of here
Last year, Rita and I attended a powwow held in the town's rec center
White families watched from bleachers
As dancers competed, beneath basketball goals
They wore costumes pa**ed down through generations
The Mesquakie beat rhythms on a single drum, Singing songs of the past
After the last Indian quilt was raffled off
The white people began to leave the gym
Bear and panther were eliminated in my grandfather's day, bobcat and wolf in my father's
The last pa**enger pigeon died in captivity in 1914
None of us can ever see a saber-tooth
In recent years, Old Faithful has lost its fidelity; the spew is erratic and short
The product of land rendered impotent by men
Our species is becoming Icarus with melting wax and loss of altitude
The sea will drink us
The air will breathe us
The soil will eat our mulch