FeatherLeaf Speaks
By John Kaniecki
The elders sat timid and meek
As FeatherLeaf rose to speak
“Why should I yearn for the stars when I have not learned the pebbles?”
“The still calm peace of the morning and the angry hurricane of evening are both the same wind.”
“Wisdom is not in words alone and can only be proven in the final ending.”
“Our blood was shed for the pale face invaders great wealth but the offender possesses no riches at all.”
“If you are so wise why cannot you see what you really are?”
“I call the stars my friends and the trees my brothers. I have lived more in a moment than you have in your many years.”
“When you were young the old were cruel and foolish. Now that you are old you have forgotten this lesson.”
“Young man I cannot understand you, I will admit to that. Perhaps you see what I am. I too must grow. Please do not be hasty to judge me before my time. But more important follow your dreams no matter what I say or do. You owe this much to yourself.”
“They say you cannot know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. You cannot walk in my shoes. I walk barefoot.”
“I am a brother to the oppressed. My mind is yellow, my heart is red, my soul is black and my skin is pale.”
“Do not tell me your story all at once, my people; my heart cannot bare that much sorrow. I will not promise you a happy ending; I do not desire to lie to you. I can only give you my tears and blood.”
“The pale man’s Jesus is the greatest wickedness of Satan. If you doubt this for but a moment not one ray of light of truth is in you. The real Jesus is another matter.”
“It is better to die now and perish bravely for that which we cherish and Love. We shall meet death soon enough, let us do so with a smile on our faces.”
“The biggest mistake we can make is to underestimate the Love of the Creator.”
“The pale man’s words were spoken in the presence of the Wind. The Spirit has heard every utterance. The pale man laughs secure thinking he has cheated us and has escaped justice. He is more foolish then a farmer planting seed in the snow.”
“Do you think He did not know the misery of the world to come that He formed?”
“They cling on hard to prolong their existence but they have never lived.”
“War will never bring peace. One reaps what one sows. If war could bring peace we would have had peace in abundance cause God knows we have had enough war.”
“’Every journey begins with a first step,’ spoke the man thinking he was so wise. ‘What a fool,’ said the Eagle to the Salmon.”
“As my thoughts turn to you, the warm rays of the sun glisten in radiant beauty through the icicle shining vivid colors as the water drips reforming my substance, creating in me something greater and stronger than what I am.”
And finally after all this he spoke and said this,
“Listening with wisdom is better than speaking with wisdom.”
And so of all those who heard,
We dared not utter another word.
Thought’s on Woody’s Legacy
By John Kaniecki
Well Woody was a hero
Loved by one and all
Well Woody was a hero
Who answered the call
Rhyme in mouth guitar in hand
He traveled many a mile of this land
Woody lived by the words he sung
Tis the way to stay forever young
Pop stars and cosmetic fakes
Have everything cept what it takes
Rubber breasts and modified voice
Make it easy to make my choice
Woodie was a friend to the poor
Understood money but knew Love was more
Giving was the key to being free
A song to share showed his care for everybody
On the box trains, round the hobo’s fire
He was a champion of a man who didn’t tire
Woody’s songs echo from mountain to canyon
True in heart his soul will not depart or abandon
The land he loved and lived for so many years
That he gave his blood, sweat and tears
Somewhere a child turns on MTV
Bored he flicks a channel to another reality
It’s a complicated, sophisticated idiodicy
What the world needs is another Woody Guthrie
Chief Joseph’s Bones
By John Kaniecki
I cried out calling for Chief Joseph’s bones
I could not be heard
Not a solitary word
Amongst the lonely cries and bitter moans
Chief Joseph where do you dwell
They have deformed paradise
And concocted a concrete hell
If only they heeded your advice
If they would but listen
The sky would be clear and the blue lakes glisten
We would live off of the bounty of the land
And God’s deepest secrets understand
Instead our heaven is a sickly gray
Waters poisoned the soil spoiled
Who can really say
For what we have laboriously toiled
Chief Joseph your wisdom was profound
Truly Mother Earth none can own
If they had only known
A better world for all we would have found
All the money of every nation, of every style
Is a pile of paper sick and vile
Give me the cool summer breeze
And a life for God to please
I seek not kingdoms with golden thrones
My deepest desire is to find
A brave man gentle and kind
A man who walks no more
Who kept his spirit pure
Chief Joseph’s bones
With the Sioux
By John Kaniecki
What shall we do
With the Sioux
Educate them
In the people that lied
Christianize them
In the religion of genocide
Let’s hope they understand
So we can steal the rest of their land
Pale Face Lied
By John Kaniecki
I hear the buffalo
They come they run
I hear the rumble
I see the buffalo
They come they run
I see Babylon tumble
Crazy Horse he never died
Pale face lied pale face lied
In the spirit world we ride
Pale face lied pale face lied
Their own Lord they crucified
Pale face lied pale face lied
I see a flock of bird
Way up high, in the sky
A wonderful song I heard
Mother Earth cannot die
God speaks a silent word
None can defy
Tecumseh he’s on the way
Pale face lied pale face lied
He’s come here come here to stay
Pale face lied pale face lied
Today this is the red man’s day
Pale face lied pale face lied
I hear a baby cry
At a place called Wounded Knee
I saw an old woman die
In bitter agony
The truth none can deny
We know our history
You will kill our people no more
Pale face lied pale face lied
You will rape Mother Earth no more
Pale face lied pale face lied
You will leave, set sail from shore
Place face lied pale face lied
God is on our side that’s for sure
Pale face lied pale face lied
