Buffalo soldier, where are you from?
Buffalo soldier, are you on the run?
“I come from a land far cross the sea,
Dagara warrior, tall, proud and free.
I come from a land with wonders to behold,
Full of creatures wild, free and bold.
A land where my brother betrayed me.
Trussed me up like a caged monkey.
Sold me to the White devils in the square,
Then piled me into a ship to nowhere.
I come from a terrible crossing of sea.
For days I could not eat or see the sky.
In pain and suffering I thought I would die,
Upon reaching this land I could but lie.
I come from a market where I was but chattel,
They paraded me out, like I was fine cattle.
‘How much do you bid for this fine buck?’
My whole fate depended on ‘who bought me’ luck.
They hauled me off, bound to the plantation
Massa James beat, and starved me to submission.
I picked for him a fine cotton crop,
But when I ran, I couldn't stop.
I joined the Blue coats and fought Johnny Reb.
From White's Ranch, Larkinsville, and the Gap.
With bloody bare hands I fought for my ground.
This Dagara warrior ran Old Dixie down.
Now that the big war is over,
Sioux call me the ‘Buffalo Soldier’.
With the 9th Cavalry I do ride,
My horse and good men by my side.
I long for my family and tribesmen who died.
Killing Indians is sad and I can’t abide.
I am still running with nowhere to hide.
I'll ride till I die, with good men by my side.”
Ride, Buffalo Soldier, ride! Into history, ride,
With good men by your side
Ron: Your kind comment about "Never Say Good-Bye" led me to this. Now I really do believe in fate. The Buffalo Soldiers, led by then Captain Blackjack Pershing rode out of Fort Shaw, Montana about 1898, as I recall rounding up Metis (half-breeds) to deport to Canada. These people had fled Canada after the second Riehl Rebellion. Neither Canada, nor the U.S. wanted them. As the troops swung around through the Dearborn country and down through Augusta, they rounded up anybody who looked Injun, whether Blackfeet or Metis. Many bodies ended up littering the trail. My old neighbor remembered, as a child, seeing the people being pushed down Main Avenue of Choteau. They camped at Claude, about five miles north of here overnight. Many escaped and made their way to the South Fork of the Teton Canyon, where they were taken in and hidden by members of my family and others. This is a particularly ugly chapter in U.S. history that few know about, our own sad "Trail of Tears". The Buffalo Soldiers had no say in what they did. The "hero" Pershing was a monster. Those who survived and were not able to escape were subsquently loaded onto boxcars....Thank you.
duke larance - the drugstore cowboy poet
Muskodayn Bishkikee Ziishib
Ronald, being one that LOVE's history and historical writings THIS one I truly enjoyed! I had goose bumps reading it and sank right into his shoes as you wrote! Wonderful job! Thanks for the pleasure....
Huggles
Tina Clark
Reviewed by Vesna Perkovic (Reader)
Reviewed on February 2, 2004
come from a land with wonders to behold,
Full of creatures wild, free and bold.
Hi,
I enjoyed reading this poem very much, and the picture chosen to accent it is awesome. I love the history of the Buffalo Soldier. My husband is currently deployed to Iraq.
Please drop by my AuthorsDen.com site and read "A Slave's Rebellion" which I think you might also enjoy. It does the same thing for Nat Turner's Insurrection that you do for the Buffalo Soldier in this poem.
Absolutely riveting Ron! Your historical references are well appreciated and well documented here. Poetry with social and political humility and significance. How nice! Not only is it heart-felt, but factually based. Ron, it can't get any better than this. Your ability to pen the Buffalo Soliders' saga, using verse and corresponding terminal rhythmic rhymes is outstanding. This piece, Ron, would certainly help to foster history's classroom curriculum discourse in a more imaginative way. I believe students' comprehension of history in general and this era in particular would be illuminated far better if poetic gradations were used more often. Great write and I enjoyed the read immensely. Look forward to reading more of your work soon. And I will stop by your personal web site: Ron's Place. Can't wait.
Ahhh.. Ron.. I have a passion for history and an admiration for the writer who can deliver an important message without forfeiting form and rhythm ... this will most certainly do! I was absolutely rapt! katy xox.
for a century United States Colored Troops fougght for a nation that hated, feared and discrimated againt them. always they fought as much
against the mentality in their own army that said they "could not fight, and could not be made to fight" as against the enemy.
look up the record of the 369th NYNG IN 1917-18--- i'm starting to rant i'll stop
good write, this
john+
ps did i mention that the 10th Cav. USCT saved Teddy Roosevelt's bacon in the charge up San Juan Hill???????
Outstanding Ronald! You did them proud, and the art is superb!
Reviewed by Jane Rodway (Reader)
Reviewed on January 25, 2004
EXCELLENT!!!!! It is a wonderful thing to get across so many historical facts in such an engaging way and write really well at the same time. You have done both.
Reviewed by Nicole Davis Vergara (Reader)
Reviewed on January 25, 2004
This is exceptional work Ronald, a truly splendid write!
~Nikki~
Not looking forward to 60 Ronald. I was surprised to see this fantastic poem about the Buffalo Soldier. I enjoyed it and some parts, well being a brother, I don't have to say. Anyway, kind of reminds me of the Tuskegee Airman back in world war 2. No one wanted to give the black pilots a chance but they ended up being some of the best pilots of the war. tk care G
This is the story of the author’s great great grandparents, Edward Lewis and Sarah Crosby, who were convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land in the 1840s. It is told from the perspective of a detective agency searching for what happened to Edward, w
A Viconian Cycle/ Babylonian Captivity Memory Silence Re-Founding of Southern history out of Dublin GA and the KBPS7 Trial. In psychology this is a Wounded Pride case.
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Lively narrative of poetic exquisite expressions, "A Buffalo Soldier's Saga" flows diffusing images of historic reminiscences.
I have enjoyed the reading of a golden scroll.
Viva the Poet!
In reverent appreciation,
Andre Emmanuel Bendavi ben-YEHU
duke larance - the drugstore cowboy poet
Muskodayn Bishkikee Ziishib
Regis
Huggles
Tina Clark
Full of creatures wild, free and bold.
..poignant lines..
Exquisite work Ron..TY!
vesna :)
I enjoyed reading this poem very much, and the picture chosen to accent it is awesome. I love the history of the Buffalo Soldier. My husband is currently deployed to Iraq.
Please drop by my AuthorsDen.com site and read "A Slave's Rebellion" which I think you might also enjoy. It does the same thing for Nat Turner's Insurrection that you do for the Buffalo Soldier in this poem.
Great poetry!
Latorial Faison
www.latorial.com
www.authorsden.com/latorialdfaison
Marion
May Lu a.k.a. Sandie Angel :o)
against the mentality in their own army that said they "could not fight, and could not be made to fight" as against the enemy.
look up the record of the 369th NYNG IN 1917-18--- i'm starting to rant i'll stop
good write, this
john+
ps did i mention that the 10th Cav. USCT saved Teddy Roosevelt's bacon in the charge up San Juan Hill???????
~Nikki~
Very well penned Sir!!
Love Tinka