A TRIBUTE TO HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW br br br Riding bareback ‘cross the wide plains br Brave Geronimo in his deep pain br Makes his pathway, looking forward br Never losing faith in fortune br To the far off land Dakota br Where he will seek for an answer br To the question that pursues him: br How and why and where he came from. br Warrior, peace man, loving life br Through this world’s unending strife br Boldly, lonely, empty-hearted br Seeking out the place he started, br Gripped and held in life’s deep wonder br Hearing only endless thunder. br ‘Cross the wide, dark Gitchigumi br Named and famed by the Ojibwe br Through the lands of the Navajo br Apache, Cherokee and Sioux br On and on he journeys fiercely br Never pausing, never fal’tring br Prowling through his mind’s great vastness: br Infinite, eternal, endless: br Here he seeks to cease pretending br That he knows his life’s true meaning. br Without guide, without companion br Through forests wide and darkest canyon br Holding fast his faith in meaning, br Hope and purpose to his dreaming br Of his love at home awaiting br His return with light enlightened.