Mound Builders

By John I. Blair

Immense earthen mounds rise
Above the river valleys
At Spiro, Cahokia, Etowah
And a thousand other places
Where humans once lived,
Loved, laughed, cried, died
And at the last
Became part of the mounds,
Sanctifying the soil.
We have learned to honor
And protect these mounds;
Their remains will persist
Until the rivers
Carry them to the sea.

Other immense mounds,
Far larger than the old,
Rise above the valleys
At Dallas, Memphis, Kansas City
And ten thousand other places
Where our detritus will persist
Perhaps until the end of time
(We have built so well).
We do not honor these mounds
And sometimes we wish
They were invisible.

©2/21/2002 John I. Blair