A Graphic Illustration

October 14, 2020

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week, in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, is Native American history.

I welcome comments on my poems at https://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

A poem for Indigenous Peoples’ Day describing how Native Americans in Oregon were told in 1855 that they were about to be inundated with white settlers:

A GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION

Adapted from The Affidavit of Charles Pitt Regarding "The Palmer Treaty, 1855" at Warm Springs, Oregon:

Palmer reached down
And raked up three piles of sand.
And he said, "Can you count the grains
In the three piles? No, you can't.
The white man in number
Is greater than the grains
In the three piles of sand.
And you can't count them.
The white man will come into your country
Like salmon go up rivers.
The great father in Washington
Is like a great chief,
But he can't stop them from coming in.
And you will be covered over by them
For they are so numerous."

© by Nicholas Gordon

To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/toshel.html. For more poems about indigenous peoples, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/indigenouspeoplesdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Native American History
October 12: Treaties Are Made to Be Broken
October 13: To Shelter the American Character from Lasting Dishonor
October 14: A Graphic Illustration