Father Eagle

Words:
Numa is "Paiute".
Kwee is "Eagle".
Nah'-ah is "Father".
Taibo is
"White people".
Hal

Father Eagle [Kwee Nah-Ah] by Hal Swift

I'd stopped m'horse an' was lookin' fer shade
On a summer day late in July
Now I dunno why I jist happent t'look
Straight up in the sparklin' blue sky

An' I seen a eagle about a mile up
An' they was maybe some six er eight more
They all was jist hangin' beneath a white cloud
Like a picture from the general store

I saw no reason fer why they was there
I guess they's lookin' fer game
Then one by one, they all blinked right out
As silently as they'd came

An ol' Numa friend he jist nodded 'is head
An' quietly pulled at 'is jaw
Kwee-Nah Ah is watching he said with a smile
You're blessed with the vision you saw

That weren't no vision I said to m'friend
Them was real eagles up there
You Taibo are slow to get wisdom, he said
You're under the Great Eagles' care

Oh come on, I said, what'd they want with me
They's no Numas you'll find in my clan
A' course yer not Numa, m'friend laughed an' said
Yer jist a good-hearted ol' man

M'friend, he said, Lissen, you've allus been strong
But yer old, an' yer hearin' is gone
Father Eagle knows too an' he cares about you
An' he'll guard you from this moment on

Well, I didn't believe what exactly he said
Oh, I'm glad that there's someone who'll care
But y' know, jist this mornin' when I looked at the sky
All them eagles was back hanging there

(c) 2002
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