We were born beneath the water
in the darkest depths of the lake
We rise, our hooves rumbling
spewing lake water, muzzles dripping
We were born beneath the water
in the darkest depths of the lake
We rise, our hooves rumbling
spewing lake water, muzzles dripping
in the darkest depths of the lake
Will Gabriel call, us, his brothers
spewing lake water, muzzles dripping
pulling the universe in our sway
Will Gabriel call, us, his brothers
riding his swiftest buffalo runner
aiming Le Petit
pulling the universe in their sway
the Milky Way – dust of buffalo spirits passing
Riding his swiftest buffalo runner
Will Gabriel, aiming Le Petit
rise, his horse’s hooves rumbling?
dust of buffalo spirits passing
We were born beneath the water
“They were born beneath the water, in the darkest depths of the lake” ( Freedman 8)
Buffalo Hunt by Russell Freedman
New York: Holiday House, 1988
Previously published in The Pemmican Eaters, ECW Press, 2015.
