By Stone and Fire
Donald P. Goodman III
Version 1.0,
When an Indian makes his canoe, he must first fell a tree of
great age and great girth,
toppling strength and vitality, bringing what once reach'd
the sky down to laying on earth;
then with axe made of stone, he must strip what had grown,
till the wood underneath is expos'd,
and then flatten one side of the hard, mighty trunk, till his
will on the wood he's impos'd.
Though the great tree is strong, he can shape as he wills,
and he takes red-hot coals from his fire,
and he places them carefully, knowing their heat will give
form to his inward desire;
though the tree had seem'd strong, it had not lasted long,
ere he molded it to his own will,
and he burns out its heart to make something quite new, in
the wood his own heart to instill.
Though the wood has been chang'd, it is still the same wood;
but it's better than it was before,
serving purpose beyond merely growing and spreading, its new
form is lov'd even more;
by the axe and the fire, it's been shap'd to desire, so the
Indian has what he needs;
but 'tis only by axe and by fire that the tree its original
shape soon exceeds.