The Man From Washington by James Welch
The Man From Washington
James WelchThe end came easy for most of us.
Packed away in our crude beginnings
in some far corner of a flat world,
we didn’t expect much more than firewood and buffalo robes
to keep us warm. The man came down,
a slouching dwarf with rainwater eyes,
and spoke to us. He promised
that life would go on as usual,
that treaties would be signed, and everyone —
man, woman and child — would be inoculated
against a world in which we had no part,
a world of money, promise and disease.
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This poem appeared in Riding the Earthboy 40 by James Welch, published by Penguin Poets, 2004. (Available on: Amazon • Bookshop)
ABOUT JAMES WELCH
James Welch was a prominent author of novels and poetry featuring the American West. He was born in Browning, Montana, and he attended school on the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap reservations. He studied with Richard Hugo at the University of Montana. Welch received honorary doctorates from Rocky Mountain College and the University of Montana. In 1997 he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas. He died in Missoula, Montana, on August 4,… (more)
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ENDNOTES
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