Ghost Bear, Page 3 Of 4 Poem by John Bliven Morin

What kind of village could be so cruel,
So inhospitable as to tie up an old man?
Were these cannibals? Evil spirits?
What had happened to him?

The smell of food came closer
With the footsteps of the bearer.
Then someone was turning him around,
And he saw the face of a woman.

She put the food down and spoke,
He could not understand her words,
But her voice was soft and friendly.
She leaned over and untied him.

Ghost Bear first felt anger.
He wanted to attack this stranger
Who must have tied him up.
But he smelled the broth.

She was offering a bowl to him
And his hunger surpassed his anger.
He tasted the thick broth
And it warmed his spirit.

When he had eaten, he wanted to stand
But his legs were weak and he almost fell.
The woman held him and he did not fall,
And her warmth felt good.

The woman helped him to sit
And told him her name was Inyanga Umfazi
Ghost Bear told her his name
Yet neither understood.

He could speak her name and she, his,
Yet neither understood the meaning
Of the other’s name, knowing only
The spoken sounds.

For a month, Inyanga Umfazi cared for him,
And slowly he regained his strength
As he began to understand her speech
The language of her people.

He learned that her name meant Moon Woman
And Ghost Bear trusted her completely.
Moon Woman pursuaded her people
To trust him as well