GHOSTS OF OKLAHOMA

GHOSTS OF OKLAHOMA

In the mists, can you see them?
Through the wind, do you hear them?
Pawnee, Osage, Kiowa, Apache.
On horseback or walking,
Alone or en masse,
Cherokee, Miami, Comanche, Wichita.
Men, young and old,
Women and children,
Shawnee, Pottawatomi, Delaware, Ute.
Red-skinned people searching for the land
promised by one white man
and stolen by others.
Look with the eyes of memory
Listen with the ears of the heart
to learn of the Ghosts of Oklahoma
as they still wander the prairies
seeking place and peace.
Here and there, casinos announce that
some have ceased wandering in the past
and begun building for a future.
Having lost in the game of life,
They now gamble for survival.
Can they win
and become again
real flesh and blood
instead of ghosts?

3/27/06 - mshr

[Previous] [Index of Stories] [Next]