Eclipse of the Moon

ECLIPSE OF THE MOON
[copyright 1998 by Michael Banister]

Two Iroquois,
Master and Disciple,
sat under skins silently in thought,

Hiawatha the Disciple
pondered his cat-like Master,
and said to himself:

“Deganawida dances through stories,
focuses our thoughts,
banishes grief.

“He sits on the bank,
so alone yet so many;
his hunt is never over.

“Released by the Eagle,
he soars over deep water;
his descent is felt by all.

“Coming up wet,
he meets the Dove,
and remembers who he is.

“Tan arms welcome the seekers,
and beckon to the multitude
hesitating on the shore.

“Adoration greets him,
fanning his envy,
as only he can know it.”

Master Deganawida stirred.
brought back from the abyss
to the question before him:

“You ask, faithful Hiawatha:
why goes the moon from full to crescent,
why becomes the orphan-king a queen’s knave?

“You can only learn the answers
after you are cast out of villages
for asking the wrong questions.

“For then you will ask the right questions,
and all the villages
will answer with one voice.

“Even the pale-eyed ones from the Farther Shore
will listen with interest;
but they will steal what you give away.

“And when your words are offered back to you
by them who stole them,
know that you and I can rest.”

The Disciple departed with many questions,
But unburdened with doubt
he sat lightly on his mount.

Hiawatha rode hard that night,
illuminated by the full moon;
he became a new dawn lighting up the west.