On the first morning I fell
To my knees before my mother
I was made to drink the milk of dogs
Heated on rocks
And to this day
When my blood boils
When I feel the storm rising
I can howl until the wolves
Come to lick my face
I knew how to read the marks of time
On the bark of trees
I knew how to count the marble shards
On the skin of snakes
For thousands, for million of years
That was enough
But still they came to get my children
For their federal schools
Tonight I walk
As before, we walked
When the moon was large
On the shore of the lake, on the shore of lake Huron
I was made to live to different rules
I was made to follow different laws
I was told “little one, the wind does not rise
On eagles’ feathers”
I can longer recognise your footsteps
Nor draw my speech
I couldn’t even write words of love to you anymore
On my painted face
Tonight I walk…
The world has turned too quickly
It has carried you straight ahead
You did not have the time to take
Your roots with you
On the day when you realise that your story
Is too young
There’ll be nobody left in the Indian Reservation
We saw the last caribou fall
At the feet of the whitefaces
Exhausted, he was dreaming on his feet
Against the walls of canvas
I don’t even know what the great manitous
Must think about it
When the night falls, I lose my way
Amongst all these new stars
Tonight I walk...