DYING WISH.

It is my dying wish,
For my body to be laid,
Upon the lands of childhood,
Where I once ran and played.

  So let me travel the path,
That takes me to my home,
Where I can lay me down,
To rest my weary bones.  

For my death is fast approaching,
And I do not have much time,
So please listen to my words,
And grant this wish of mine.  

Then let me rest amongst them,
All those who went before,
And in death I will join them,
Then speak my name no more.  

Shunkepi Nunpi
November 1998

THESE LANDS OF MINE.

For many moons I traveled,
Across these lands of mine,
To gaze upon the beauty,
To see what I might find.  

The Black Hills are the heart,
The rivers are the veins,
The land I call my mother,
Because through her I’ll live again.  

I have sat upon the buttes,
As I watched the day go by,
As the sun slowly rises,
Then in the evening slowly dies.  

I have greeted all my brothers,
That share these lands with me,
From the eagle to the buffalo,
From the grasslands to the trees.  

I will carry within my heart forever,
All these images I have seen,
And I will thank the Great Spirit,
For sharing them with me.  

Shunkepi Nunpi
December 1998

FATHER TO HIS SON.

We were not always this poor,
Spoke a father to his son,
And the lands of our people,
Stretched far out beneath the sun.  

Our lives were both rich and free,
The father then tried to explain,
As the son listened to the words,
He saw his father’s pain.  

We have fought many battles,
To save our way of life,
But the odds were set against us,
So now we live in strife.  

But we are still rich in spirit,
The son said full of pride,
And upon hearing these words,
He saw his father cry.

  The defiance of his son’s words,
Filled his father’s heart with joy,
And although his heart was heavy,
He smiled across at his boy.  

I will not allow this time,
To wipe away our past,
For if we show defeat,
They will make us eat the grass.  

And so this father and his boy,
Promised, to continue with their fight,
Until they regained their lands,
And put all the wrongs to right.  

Shunkepi Nunpi
November 1998

ME AND YOU.

One night a vision stole it’s way into my heart,
Voices spoke many words to me before they did depart,
At first I was unable to really understand,
For the great Wakan Tanka made me but a simple man.
That is the difference between me and you.

  For in my heart I know right from wrong,
And all the words of my own death song,
When I give my word I will hold it true,
No matter what you try to say or do.
That is the difference between me and you.

  I live quietly upon this vast and beautiful land,
Never trying to change it without Wakan Tanka’s guiding hand,
The animals are my brothers, I treat them with respect,
And when I have to kill them it is done with deep regret.
That is the difference between me and you.

  I really do not want to change this way of life,
As I play with my children and lay with my wife,
But on the eve of a beautiful summers day,
I know in my heart that you are heading my way.
That is the difference between me and you.

  I will try and give you what you ask of me,
In my attempts to keep all my people free,
But never in my wildest moments did I think of you,
As the one to rid the lands of me and what I hold true.
That is the difference between me and you.  

Shunkepi Nunpi
June 1998