All the Tender Pathos

20 April 2021

Every human heart is human
    - "Hiawatha", Introduction

Remember how the river moves,
Remember warm embracing,
Bring them here, to this steel jungle,

And know love.
Put down thy burden.

Remember once the wigwam,
Old coyote and the moon.
Relive the sorrow,

Breathe the pain.
Put down thy burden.

See the colored faces,
Out of place in this steel jungle,
Housed in spite of fear and hatred,

See them here.
Put down thy burden.

Know the pain of ages,
Know the sorrow of the moon,
The midnight moon that every age sees,

Warmed by tears.
Put down thy burden.

Dream as one soul dreaming,
Move toward the common dream,
And in the moonlight,

Build a home.
Put down thy burden.

Wait for dawn, and as she rises
Greet her with her own surprises,
As a people wildly singing

In the river’s cool disguises.
Thus forget thy burden.

Hear the coursing river,
Hear it coursing, hear it roaring
On its journey to the ocean,

And be human.
Leave behind thy burden,
Leave behind thy burden.