Hiawatha & the Midges
With apologies to Hentry Wadsworth Longfellow
By the shores of Gichi Gumi
Rising from the Big Sea Water See the cloud of tiny midges Hear them singing in the sunshine Happy to be free and flying Happy to be near the forest Near the tents and near the tipis Hear them singing to the horses Pawing in the summer forest See them settle on Nokomis Stitching hides and flapping wildly See them cover Minnehaha Running to the cooling water See them follow Hiawatha Running after Minnehaha Flying in their ears and noses lodging in the braid and buckskin Up the skirt and in the breechcloth In the moccasins and leggings Feasting on their legs and faces Then said mighty Hiawatha I will make a fire of pine wood Offer to the Great White Spirit To the great Gichi Manitou Many prayers and supplications Ask Him how to stop the itching How to send away the midges Then he rescued Minnehaha From the shining Big Sea Water Sent her off to look for firewood And he sent Nokomis with her Itching, scratching as they foraged Still pursued by hymning midges Then the mighty Hiawatha In the whining of the midges In the cries of Minnehaha Heard Gichi Manitou speaking Heard Him ask for many branches Set in heaps around the tipis Burning in a sacred circle Sending up their smoke to Heaven And he said to old Nokomis This will chase away the midges This will stop their biting, biting Their infuriating singing Go and make a paste of honey, Cedar, salt and burning garlic This will stop the bites from itching On your wrinkled face and fingers On my hero’s breast and belly Then with all the balm remaining I will massage Minnehaha As the smoke ascends to Heaven And she smiles in my embraces See the cloud of angry midges Rising from the tents and tipis Out of wampum bag and wigwam Rising angry through the forest In the smoke that bears them upward Smoke of sly Gichi Manitou Chasing from the sacred circle From the skin of Minnehaha From the skin of old Nokomis From the skin of Hiawatha From their cradle by the Water All the midges of the forest Then the sly Gichi Manitou Called upon great Animikii, Called the Thunderer to aid him Save His people from their torment For the Thunderbird is mighty Mightier than Hiawatha And his wings eclipse the Heavens And his winds are like a bellows Blowing life and death before him See him sweep the clouds of midges From the forest to the mountain From the mountain to the ocean From one ocean to another New and shining Big Sea Water Till the wings of Animikii Let them fall on distant forests Let them fall in glens and corries Fall among the peat and heather And the people with pale faces And the cows with orange fringes See the cloud of happy midges Dancing, dancing in the sunshine Happy to be free and flying Happy to be near the forest Near the farm and near the shieling In the land of Merry Dancers Hear them singing to the farmers Flying up their kilts to bite them Hear them singing to the soldiers Feasting on their angry faces There is no Gichi Manitou Listening to their petitions To their curses, imprecations As the sword, the mighty claymore Winner of a thousand battles Swings in vain against the midges Now the lords of loch and mountain Drinking deep at every ceilidh Setting Dubh and Bride reeling Setting old Cruatha jigging Hear the wailing of the midges Hear the wailing of the pibroch Scotland rants and Scotland dances |