Walking along the river one night
in Talequah where the moon was bright.
Waders on with rod and reel ,
if the fishing's good I'll fill my creel.

I found a spot where the river flows deep
by the horse shoe bend where the hill is steep.
While hooking a fresh bait to the line
I saw forms from another time.

Then a sight which made my blood run cold
in the dark of night by the moonlight glow.
I heard the stories from the days of old
of the trail of tears and the Cherokee souls.

Along the banks in the cool night air
the specter tribe of lost souls stared...
across the river in hopes to camp
above the banks of the river damp.

I watched them move in ghostly form
in the cool night air hoping to be warm.
I heard the cries and I heard the moans
of Cherokee hearts in a land unknown.

Even their campfire lights seemed cold
as I stared and watched these broken souls.
I silently put away my rod and reel
for a few moments this sight to steal.

My mind was reflecting the sights and sounds
of the eerie stories told in town...
of the indian tribe which moves at night
in ghostly form through the moonbeam light.

Their bodies gaunt with faces drawn tight ,
all hunger spent, crouching in the night.
They huddled together as best they could
by the rivers edge deep in the woods.

Land of the buffalo which fed the many.
Wild game and crops. The land of plenty.
The real Americans were driven away
no vote to cast, no voice to say :
" This is our home for a thousand years.
Our laughter then now turns to tears.
Is there not enough land for us all to share ?
Must you take the best and leave us bare ?
and what of our families..what is their fate ?
How and why must I explain the hate ?
The good Earth has provided all we need.
Is it just contempt or is it greed ?"

Why did this happen from those years gone by ?
More ethnic cleansing or was it genocide ?
The term I remember from my old school
of the white man's plan to coerce and rule.

"This land is ours, you must move away.
It's for the settlers so your kind must pay.
So leave your forests and the lands you've kmown
and move out west to a harsher home."

The trail of tears ! Please...ignore this plea !
It is a doctrine called "Manifest Destiny ".