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After Wounded Knee MAG

March 1, 2009
By Elise Lockwood BRONZE, Carmel, Indiana
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Elise Lockwood BRONZE, Carmel, Indiana
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You still wear that old war paint
(angry lines slashed above your eyes)
I can feel you waiting for the battle to come
(spikes of red staining your cheeks)
There are no pawing horses now
No painted hands on their haunches
(the number of warrior souls you stole)
No noonday sun beating on bare backs
No smell of sweat and leather and bravery
Puncturing the familiar woodsmoke
(breastplates of porcupine quills, feathers in hair)
No ululations of war, yelling at fear
No singing, no dancing, no tribes, no homes
(scars left from the struggle free from the sun)
Just a drum drum drum beat
(a piece of flesh left for the Great Spirit)
Piercing through dreams.

© Olivia E., Alto, MI

The author's comments:
This was inspired by the Battle at Wounded Knee in 1890, a massacre of the Sioux.
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This article has 129 comments.

BMMSKC said...
on Mar. 2 2010 at 9:25 am
I could see everything you were talking about....love it
bmmsgk said...
on Mar. 2 2010 at 8:37 am
i like how you said war paint was refering to blood in your poem
Audrea15 PLATINUM said...
on Feb. 8 2010 at 8:27 pm
Audrea15 PLATINUM, Murphysboro, Illinois
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Favorite Quote:
Everybody wants happiness. Nobody wants pain. But you cant have a rainbow. Without a little rain.

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Very unusual but great please please xheck out my new stuff
sleeplessdreamer PLATINUM said...
on Feb. 8 2010 at 6:49 pm
sleeplessdreamer PLATINUM, Raleigh, North Carolina
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Favorite Quote:
&quot;I have always wanted to write in such a way that people say, &#039;I have always thought that but never found the words for it.&#039;&quot; -anonymous

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Really unique. I loved it.
divinelove33 GOLD said...
on Feb. 8 2010 at 6:30 pm
divinelove33 GOLD, Ballwin, Missouri
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&quot;Our fingerprints never fade from the lives that we touch

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fantastic. it left me awe struck. great job
notw said...
on Feb. 8 2010 at 12:55 pm
that was reall deep that was awesome
LuLu95 PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 17 2010 at 7:44 pm
LuLu95 PLATINUM, Denver, Colorado
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this is a GREAT poem i loved how you use parentheses
FrySnickerdoodle said...
on Jan. 17 2010 at 3:51 pm
FrySnickerdoodle, Red Lion, Pennsylvania
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&quot;Pain is weakness leaving the body&quot;<br /> &quot;He who angers you, conquers you&quot;

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This poem is so gorgeous. The use of colorful language is incredible.
dancingdaisies GOLD said...
on Jan. 17 2010 at 12:38 am
dancingdaisies GOLD, Westborough, Massachusetts
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&quot; you can&#039;t get what you want until you know what you want&quot;-Joe Jackson<br /> &quot;Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!&quot;-Contanze<br /> &quot;Why are you talking about all of these thing you&#039;re getting &amp; nothing about what you already have?&quot;~MMEE!!:)

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tHERE IS A GREAT USE OF LANGUAGE, BUT I DON'T GET IT
scarletP SILVER said...
on Dec. 26 2009 at 9:47 pm
scarletP SILVER, East Lansing, Michigan
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see, if they read this to us in class i think i would have wanted to learn more about this battle. wonderful.
AWScienceGeek GOLD said...
on Dec. 4 2009 at 8:17 pm
AWScienceGeek GOLD, Los Gatos, California
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That was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous!
Book Addict said...
on Dec. 4 2009 at 5:15 pm
I love this, you put it together in an amazing way. Painting a picture of a moment in american history that most would rather leave behind being the horrible nature of the event, but you wrote about it. It's amazing!(:
Elockwood said...
on Nov. 17 2009 at 7:08 am
Since this is a poem, whatever the poet wants is generally grammatically correct. Take E.E. Cummings, for example. His punctuation is definitely not grammatically correct, but it adds a lot of depth to the poem. In this, the parentheses are used to set apart certain lines.
sasssgirrrl22 PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 7:13 pm
sasssgirrrl22 PLATINUM, Pearl River, New York
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this is amazing. u set this horrible time into a great perspective. awesome descriptionz. keep writing!! ;P
despurlock DIAMOND said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 5:38 pm
despurlock DIAMOND, Morgantown, West Virginia
79 articles 0 photos 179 comments

Favorite Quote:
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This poem was absolutely gorgeous! I love how you took an event and molded its meaning into your peace of flowing awesome-ness (for lack of better words) :) Great job!
AspiringJellyfish BRONZE said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 4:25 pm
AspiringJellyfish BRONZE, Holmdel, New Jersey
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I don't understand the use of parenthesis? Is that grammatically correct?
gaypiratebooklover46 said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 2:15 pm
This was a really great poem i am really bored at school and there for had nothing to do. It really helped me get out o my bordom!
jmc.13 said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 10:04 am
jmc.13, Dobbs Ferry, New York
0 articles 0 photos 58 comments

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&quot;I&#039;d rather regret what I did than what I didn&#039;t do.&quot;

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Really beautiful phrasing. I loved your word choice and use of parenthesis, it added a lot of depth.

Great work!
cheerchick4 SILVER said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 9:28 am
cheerchick4 SILVER, Beaumont, Texas
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it is an amaizing poem
tomtamtimmy GOLD said...
on Nov. 12 2009 at 3:43 am
tomtamtimmy GOLD, Sydney, Other
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you have loads of talent. good work