Blessed to be Cherokee… KEYWORDS: native american poem native american poetry Cherokee poem Cherokee poetry Martha Moongazer Beard poem nature poem nature poetry
Big sky above me where Eagle roams
Mother Earth below me where I call home.
Friends of the forest give life to me,
Bounty in my valley is here to see. I awake peaceful with morning sun,
I sleep under contented moon when my day is done.
Bear offers her coat to keep me warm,
So it has been since I was born.
Grandmother sings to her totem spirits,
What pleasure I feel in her tender lyrics.
The smell of smoke on cooking fire,
Great Spirit gives me what I require.
Here by my mountain with vision dreams,
Beside cool waters of life’s giving streams
I hunt, I fish, I pray, I love,
And hear the hauting trill of the mourning dove.
Blessed as Indian from my birth,
Yellow iron cannot buy what this is worth.
A gift from the Great Spirit given to me,
Yes, I am Cherokee.
Martha Moongazer Beard
December 31, 2004