The Feast of the Virgins and Other Poems by Hanford Lennox Gordon
page 17 of 448 (03%)
page 17 of 448 (03%)
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His fuming pipe from the Red-stone Quarry.[23]
The warriors follow. The white cloud drifts From the Council-lodge to the welkin starry, Like a fog at morn on the fir-clad hill, When the meadows are damp and the winds are still. They dance to the tune of their wild "_Há-há_" A warrior's shout and a raven's caw-- Circling the pot and the blazing fire To the tom-tom's bray and the rude bassoon; Round and round to their heart's desire, And ever the same wild chant and tune-- A warrior's shout and a raven's caw-- "_Há-há,--há-há,--há-há,--há!_" They crouch, they leap, and their burning eyes Flash fierce in the light of the flaming fire, As fiercer and fiercer and higher and higher The rude, wild notes of their chant arise. They cease, they sit, and the curling smoke Ascends again from their polished pipes, And upward curls from their swarthy lips To the god whose favor their hearts invoke. Then tall Wakâwa arose and said: "Brave warriors, listen, and give due heed. Great is _Heyóka_, the magical god; He can walk on the air; he can float on the flood. He's a worker of magic and wonderful wise; He cries when he laughs and he laughs when he cries; He sweats when he's cold, and he shivers when hot, |
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