On This Hill

It was here, on This Hill
that pure nature was blessed
with a man who cared.
 
It was here that the Shawnee
lived, and died,
and were led by a man who cared.
 
I am here, on This Hill
overlooking the valley
on our farm.
 
To remember and ask
for a message from the past.
To keep me from doing such harm.
 
I say his name,
Tecumseh, in shame,
and walk where he walked
long ago.
 
I climb to the top
of the mountain and stop.
to blow my horn at the ghosts
down below.
 
I hope they can hear me
and I hope they don't fear me.
For I love this land and I'll care
for this ground.
 
through the rain,
through the summer,
through the snow.

by Carter Parks

Carter Parks - Born in California, he grew up on a picturesque farm in southern Ohio, near the center of the society that was once the great Shawnee people. They were mainly a peaceful tribe that subsisted on corn that they grew in the floodplains. His respect for the people comes from the respect for the land that he grew to appreciate so much. He now lives in Maryland, part of the Eastern Seaboard Megalopolis. You can contact Carter below