I Was The First! (Blank verse)

                    By Munda

 

                    For many years I lived along a creek,

                    And navigated down-stream quite a bit,

                    To find a glimpse of what the end may bring;

                    This river wild had put its spell on me.

 

                    One day I packed my bags and got my boat,

                    Not beaver, nor a hunt my goal this time,

                    But merely satisfying needs within,

                    Exploring wildest river known to me.

 

                    What would be at the end of this wild beast?

                    Enormous lake where many rivers meet?

                    And banks much further than the eye can reach?

                    Or would it end at sea to mingle in?

 

                    So off I was and slept along the way,

                    And during night the deer and wolf stopped by;

                    Racoons stole food and ruined my supplies;

                    Misfortune could not stop me from my quest!

 

                    On berries blue and fish I stayed alive;

                    A rabbit old, occasionally snared;

                    My pipe, a good old friend and company,

                    While birds sang me a lullaby to sleep.

 

                    The river started flowing faster yet

                    And danger lurked around each bend I sailed;

                    A rapid, strong or whirlpool to avoid,

                    But bit by bit I conquered every stream.

 

                    Although I must admit it was a fight,

                    With nature of a kind beyond my dreams;

                    Inferiority revealed to me,

                    By flowing faster on this river wild.

 

                    One day I heard a sound not known to me,

                    And for a single moment time stood still;

                    A mile ahead a waterfall so grand,

                    Of such a beauty I could hardly breathe.

 

                    I had to reach the shore to save my butt;

                    A test of utmost strength to man and boat;

                    My muscles aching, asking for relief,

                    Another 15 feet and I’d be safe.

 

                    But Indians would not allow me rest,

                    Their arrows aimed to kill this weary man;

                    My one chance of survival straight ahead,

                    By going over falls without an end.

 

                    Niagara Falls is where you’ll find my bones;

                    A man’s heart broken, story never told!

                    Another man got famous and not me!

                    Discovering these falls y’all come to see.

 

                    So now my bones lay at the bottom of

                    The greatest beauty one has ever seen;

                    My spirit bound till somebody believes,

                    I was the first discovering the Falls.

 

                    Dear folks, who read this story, set me free,

                    By throwing in a dime to break the spell;

                    For if you do, I may at last find peace;

                    Niagara Falls lay not my soul to waste.

 

                    © Copyright Munda 2001

 

 

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