Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE RED-MAN'S ALTAR by INA SIZER CASSIDY

First Line: SON OF NATURE, COPPER-SKINNED AND STALWART
Last Line: DISTILL INCENSE FOR YOUR DEVOTIONS.
Subject(s): NATIVE AMERICANS; NATURE; SPIRITUAL LIFE; INDIANS OF AMERICA; AMERICAN INDIANS; INDIANS OF SOUTH AMERICA;

Son of Nature, copper-skinned and stalwart,
environed by cactus-covered hills,
your altar is no costly thing of wood and shining brass,
starred by burning candles.

Your altar is a rock,
rain-stained, frost-mottled, ages old,
resting on an arid hillside.
Wild shrub and desert flowers
are your costly broideries;
tall-stemmed yuccas reaching skyward
are your candles;
while bee-balm, aconite and juniper
distill incense for your devotions.



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