Farm’s eternal footprint
Memories held tight
From each generation
Nurturing what’s right
Kitchen table’s witness
Writes each diary page
Chronicles history
Filling life’s rain gauge
Precious hope’s future link
Tough times overcome
History comes alive
Leaving each bread crumb
Confidence builds each spring
Another crop sown
Expected fall harvest
Paying back bank loan
Farmer’s faithful outlook
Every season’s birth
Tomorrow remains bright
Blessing Mother Earth
The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet: The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.” This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.
Facing an uncertain world
Life asking questions of “when”
Intertribal wars threaten
Hostile danger setting in
Preserving Blackfeet culture
Each passing generation
Saving sacred heritage
Hold for next generation
Ritual artifacts cache
Spiritual lives won’t rest
Supernatural visions
Medicine dreams will attest
Honoring warrior life
Holy treasures speaking out
Collected and safeguarded
Sacred bundles carry clout
Filling with key elements
Common and natural sought
Feathers, hides, shells, horns added
Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought
Passing on these rituals
Mother Earth, Creative Sun
Guarding life’s sacred relics
Legacy, father to son
Originally published November, 2020.
Witnessing upsets
“Cinderella” storylines–
Underdogs rise up
Time for spring cleaning
Hey son, use more elbow grease—
Ouch . . . tennis elbow!
Humor striking out
“Generation Gap” witnessed—
Dad’s jokes falling flat
Photo by Marllon Cristhian Barbosa on Pexels.com
Watching Saturday’s unhurried sunrise
Feeling gratefulness, spirit shall arise
Being retired, life moves at much slower pace
Realizing, there’s no need to win life’s race
Remembering grandfathers, crisp and clear
Teaching life lessons, steady and sincere
Growing up, learning from their example
Tasting life with every new sample
Loving family, with kindness and care
Treating marriage, with love beyond compare
Passing on wisdom, making good choices
Sitting here now, hearing cherished voices
Accepting their torch, these years move along
Being a grandfather, where love belongs
Filling up life, grandchildren sharing love
Joining other grandfathers, fits like a glove
Photo by Kelly Lacy on Pexels.com
Originally published April, 2020. Edited September, 2023.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was America’s 40th President. Years before he served his two terms of office as President (1980-1988), Reagan addressed the Republican National Convention in 1964. The above excerpt comes from his Freedom Speech.
Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship.
English novelist and journalist, George Orwell (1903-1950), was an outspoken political commentator, but he was much better known for his literary works, including the novels 1984 and ANIMAL FARM.
The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet: The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.” This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.
Facing an uncertain world
Life asking questions of “when”
Intertribal wars threaten
Hostile danger setting in
Preserving Blackfeet culture
Each passing generation
Saving sacred heritage
Hold for next generation
Ritual artifacts cache
Spiritual lives won’t rest
Supernatural visions
Medicine dreams will attest
Honoring warrior life
Holy treasures speaking out
Collected and safeguarded
Sacred bundles carry clout
Filling with key elements
Common and natural sought
Feathers, hides, shells, horns added
Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought
Passing on these rituals
Mother Earth, Creative Sun
Guarding life’s sacred relics
Legacy, father to son
Photo by Marllon Cristhian Barbosa on Pexels.com
Watching Saturday’s unhurried sunrise
Feeling gratefulness, spirit shall arise
Being retired, life moves at much slower pace
Realizing, there’s no need to win life’s race
Remembering grandfathers, crisp and clear
Teaching life lessons, steady and sincere
Growing up, learning from their example
Tasting life with every new sample
Loving family, with kindness and care
Treating marriage, with love beyond compare
Passing on wisdom, making good choices
Sitting here now, hearing cherished voices
Accepting their torch, these years move along
Being a grandfather, where love belongs
Filling up life, grandchildren sharing love
Joining other grandfathers, fits like a glove
Photo by Kelly Lacy on Pexels.com
Big Sky Buckeye 