Little Bighorn Poem by Mike Finley

I took my boy to the battlefield
and we paused in the locust grass
to read a warning sign, 'Beware
of rattlesnakes. Stay on the path! '

I took my son's little hand
and climbed the steady ridge
where the Sioux appeared that day
like feathered cougars in the sun.

I pointed out the crosses.
'The soldiers fell here, understand? '
'Yes, dad, they stepped off the path
and the rattlesnakes bit them dead! '



(1993)