Best of Native American Poetry Translations by Michael R. Burch
Translation
Speak less thunder, wield more lightning.
— Apache proverb
Cherokee Prayer
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
As I walk life's trails
imperiled by the raging wind and rain,
grant, O Great Spirit,
that yet I may always
walk like a man.
Cherokee Travelers' Blessing I
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I will extract the thorns from your feet.
Yet a little longer we will walk life's sunlit paths together.
I will love you like my own brother, my own blood.
When you are disconsolate, I will wipe the tears from your eyes.
And when you are too sad to live, I will put your aching heart to rest.
Cherokee Travelers' Blessing II
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Happily may you walk
in the paths of the Rainbow.
Oh!,
and may it always be beautiful before you,
beautiful behind you,
beautiful below you,
beautiful above you,
and beautiful all around you
where in Perfection beauty is finished.
Cherokee Travelers' Blessing III
loose loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
May Heaven’s warmest winds blow gently there,
where you reside,
and may the Great Spirit bless all those you love,
this side of the farthest tide.
And when you go,
whether the journey is fast or slow,
may your moccasins leave many cunning footprints in the snow.
And when you look over your shoulder, may you always find the Rainbow.
Sioux Vision Quest
by Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota Sioux, circa 1840-1877
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A man must pursue his Vision
as the eagle explores
the sky's deepest blues.
Native American Travelers' Blessing
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Let us walk together here
among earth's creatures great and small,
remembering, our footsteps light,
that one wise God created all.
Native American Prayer
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Help us learn the lessons you have left us
in every leaf and rock.
Cheyenne Proverb
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Before you judge
a man for his sins
be sure to trudge
many moons in his moccasins.
Proverbs
Adults talk, children whine.
— Blackfoot proverb
The more we wonder, the more we understand.
— Arapaho proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
Don’t be afraid to cry: it will lessen your sorrow.
— Hopi proverb
One foot in the boat, one foot in the canoe, and you end up in the river.
— Tuscarora proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
Our enemy's weakness increases our strength.
— Cherokee proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
We will be remembered tomorrow by the tracks we leave today.
— Dakota proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
No sound's as eloquent as a rattlesnake's tail.
— Navajo saying, translation by Michael R. Burch
The heart is our first teacher.
— Cheyenne proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
Dreams beget success.
— Maricopa proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
Knowledge interprets the past, wisdom foresees the future.
— Lumbee proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
The troublemaker's way is thorny.
— Umpqua proverb, translation by Michael R. Burch
Michael R. Burch is the editor of The HyperTexts, on-line at www.thehypertexts.com, where he has published hundreds of poets over the past three decades. His poetry has been translated into fourteen languages, taught in high schools and colleges around the globe, incorporated into three plays and two operas, and set to music by seventeen composers. A five-time Pushcart nominee, his poems, translations and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary journals, including The Lyric, New Lyre, Romantics Quarterly, The Chained Muse, LIGHT, Measure, Southwest Review, The Chariton Review, The Chimaera, Brief Poems, Poem Today, Asses of Parnassus, Writer’s Digest—The Year’s Best Writing and The Best of the Eclectic Muse.
Indian Ghost Song, Symphony & Other Poetry
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There is some great wisdom in these reflective pieces by the Native Americans. Thank you for bringing them to us in these memorable translations.
I have always felt that their idea of the 'Great Spirit' and the more Biblical term 'God' are just different ways of describing the great unknowable, so it's interesting to see both terms being used here.
As for wisdom, I think I'll reflect on this Cheyenne Proverb today: 'The heart is our first teacher.' There is a lot to be said for what is felt in the heart to be true and worth keeping.
I did the "traveler's blessing" translations for my father, Paul Ray Burch Jr., when he chose to stop taking dialysis and enter hospice, so I am thankful to see them published here.