Our Life is Being Written

Sometimes in conversation,
I mention,"I am Native."
They say: "You don't look it, you look Irish."
I tell them; "That is only the cover of my book."
"You have to read. "

From an Irish grandfather, I have my face.
From his Cherokee wife, I have my height.
From a German grandfather, I have my solid, stubborn beliefs.
From his Choctaw wife, I have my build.

From my children I have pride,
Each more accomplished than I
From my Choctaw-Cherokee wife,
my Tripping Buffalo Woman,
I have my heart, my soul,
and more dreams to build.

I am an old soldier,
A Native American Veteran.
I still believe the soldiers creed, sworn long ago.

I am an American fighting man.
I serve in the forces that guard our country,
and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

No longer on the battlefield,
with silver gray on top,
my fight is left to words.
They mean nothing without you to hear.

I do not do enough for my Native Blood,
Perhaps it will do
that it courses through the veins of my children,
and the blood I left in a land, far away.

I am Native, it is my heart and my soul.
You have seen the first page
of this book that is still being written.