Post by Old Dragon (Al) on May 27, 2004 12:11:14 GMT 1
AN OLD INDIAN’S PRAYER
(Translation by Paul A. - 1971)
Great Mother of all who dwell upon the earth
I seek to honour you with my thoughts
I pray that you will hear these words from my heart
and look kindly upon this son of your womb
that I may find comfort in my twilight years.
Mighty is the power of the soil beneath my naked feet
as the birds of the air come to rest upon the sacred earth
as the trees of the forest return to their roots
as all creatures who ever lived and grew upon your bountiful gifts
so shall I finally abide within your power.
I am soothed and strengthened, cleansed and healed by your presence
I am as one with all creatures of the land
I am as one with the birds of the air
and the fishes of the lakes and rivers
I am as one with the flowers of the desert
and the grass of the plains
I am as one with the wilderness
and the mountains that rise to greet the sun.
Yet my heart grows heavy for I sit within a shadow
The shadow of fear
All around me I see a new world growing
One where love and nature have lost respect
And where the wisdom you have given your children is no longer shared.
Was it not always the way of the hunter to share his meat?
Surely it is only by the sharing of all that all may survive?
You have always shared your many gifts with all your children
Instructed them and shown them how to live in harmony upon the earth
You have shared you knowledge with us so that we may survive
But now there are those who would refuse to acknowledge your gifts
Your wisdom so freely and generously given
Taking all and giving nothing in return
Those who lack respect for growing, living things
And in so doing, grow hard and embittered
Dissatisfied, so that greed rules in the place of generously
Hatred and anger in place of reverence
Leaving only the darkness of the blind where once light shone
Clear and bright for all.
Great Mother of all who dwell upon the earth
Deliver us, your children, from this shadow
For we cannot survive in darkness
Else we are as the living dead
Lost between two worlds.
(Translation by Paul A. - 1971)
Great Mother of all who dwell upon the earth
I seek to honour you with my thoughts
I pray that you will hear these words from my heart
and look kindly upon this son of your womb
that I may find comfort in my twilight years.
Mighty is the power of the soil beneath my naked feet
as the birds of the air come to rest upon the sacred earth
as the trees of the forest return to their roots
as all creatures who ever lived and grew upon your bountiful gifts
so shall I finally abide within your power.
I am soothed and strengthened, cleansed and healed by your presence
I am as one with all creatures of the land
I am as one with the birds of the air
and the fishes of the lakes and rivers
I am as one with the flowers of the desert
and the grass of the plains
I am as one with the wilderness
and the mountains that rise to greet the sun.
Yet my heart grows heavy for I sit within a shadow
The shadow of fear
All around me I see a new world growing
One where love and nature have lost respect
And where the wisdom you have given your children is no longer shared.
Was it not always the way of the hunter to share his meat?
Surely it is only by the sharing of all that all may survive?
You have always shared your many gifts with all your children
Instructed them and shown them how to live in harmony upon the earth
You have shared you knowledge with us so that we may survive
But now there are those who would refuse to acknowledge your gifts
Your wisdom so freely and generously given
Taking all and giving nothing in return
Those who lack respect for growing, living things
And in so doing, grow hard and embittered
Dissatisfied, so that greed rules in the place of generously
Hatred and anger in place of reverence
Leaving only the darkness of the blind where once light shone
Clear and bright for all.
Great Mother of all who dwell upon the earth
Deliver us, your children, from this shadow
For we cannot survive in darkness
Else we are as the living dead
Lost between two worlds.