A Noble Savage

The wind is cold and the sky is grey,

Open your eyes to greet this day.

It sings of melancholy and long ago,

Hear its song as the wind wails low. 

You don't know me and I don't know you,

Between two people understanding is few.

But if you would listen to my short tale,

Perhaps our understanding wouldn't be so frail. 

You see I have lived a thousand lives,

Flown with the birds and tended the  hives.

I know the ways of nature and the world,

The years have made my face jagged and curled.

I have raised a thousand braves to battle,

I have hunted the forests and run with the cattle.

My feet have tread the high mountains of the land,

Made lives and homes with my brotherly band.

I know the ways of the wind and the waves,

I know every wild beast that lives in the caves.

My name means wise though its utterance is lost,

I've seen the world change slowly and at great cost.

Once upon a time the land was free,

There was open space for you and me.

The heavens were bright and the fields were ripe,

The stars shown like diamonds scattered in a stripe.

Brave men and savages fought for the land,

To each others' throats we would always raise a hand.

Peace in our time was a thing of the past,

Something we never wanted for we knew it couldn't last.

Battle and blood were all we knew,

Tears and sweat mixed with morning dew.

The land was trampled under our feet,

Ever onward we surged our destinies to meet.

I should have died so long ago,

I wished to die that our story might grow.

But life it seems will never leave me,

It's left me to ponder wait and see.

The world has changed since that long ago time,

But when the wind blows I can still hear it chime.

There's no place on earth like the land I knew,

No brave hearts but the very few.

A noble savage is what they called me,

For they cannot speak of what they don't see.

They do not know me or know of my past,

How long will this illusion of theirs last?

If I were noble the world would be whole,

I would not have let destruction take its toll.

A noble man works to see peace preserved,

Rather than fighting he works only to serve.

Gone are the days when brave roamed free,

But perhaps the fault falls to me.

Battle and blood bring glory and fame,

But once the dust settles you have nothing but shame.

A noble savage once roamed that hill,

Basking in the sun and drinking his fill.

But he's long gone I've taken his place,

Years have put lines on this weary worn face.

If the winds could speak what would they say,

Would they speak wisdom or fly far away?

Would they grieve the land where my brothers died,

Or would they say we picked the wrong side?

I've seen the passage of time roll on,

I've seen every sunset and every dawn.

The world has a chance to begin anew,

It starts with me and it starts with you.

The wind is calling and the waves do weep,

It is time for old enemies at last to sleep.

Time has traveled on and on,

And with it my age is forever gone.

This noble savage has fulfilled his oath,

He's left the world with room for growth.

Time will tell if peace can return,

But that's why I speak that others may learn. 

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