the potawatomi of illinois were not going quietly
they killed the fort dearborn souls in the war of 1812
tecumseh the shawnee fighting in canada for the british
against the americans (long knives) was too-soon dead
fortified with history of these ex-forests ex-prairies
i'm going
the prairie had its highways in 1804
vast trade networks -- horses and guns for corn
mandan sioux shoshone
cheyenne cree
driving on i-90 i'm going through indian reservations
the drying out spots -- poverty and islands of gambling
i'm going
2.
going-to-the-sun road
they say one of the beautiful drives of the world
climbs up and down logan pass in glacier national park
in april under 100 feet of snow
plowed open in time for july
dress warmly for the snow-packed higher elevations
i'm going
and all around the jaggediest sierra imaginable
and all around -- emerald forest green
and all around winnebagos mini-vans camcorders
this used to belong to the pro-british blackfeet
from heights the mountain lakes look deep turquoise
because of glacier-ground suspended dust
i'm going
3.
corrosive america left and right always was corrosive
indians were always raiding other indians
without fighting -- how could there be honorable chiefs?
like indians i am happy to be on the road
my car is still driving at 200 thousand miles my pony
without trading supplies for shoshone and nez perce horses
lewis and clark wouldn't have crossed and recrossed the divide
without my pony i would be a city-stuck tv-watching chicagoan
aching for my fair ladies my fair open spaces my fair rides
i'm going. going going
too caught-up in the sinew too far-gone in the head not to go.
