A Curse On The Men In Washington, Pentagon

A CURSE ON THE MEN IN WASHINGTON, PENTAGON BY GARY SNYDER

As you shoot down the Vietnamese women and men

                                       in their fields

            Burning and chopping,

            Poisoning and blighting,

So surely I hunt the white man down

            in my heart.

The crew-cutted Seattle boy

The Portland boy who worked for U.P.

                                       that was me.

I won't let him live.         The "American"

       I'll destroy.               The "Christian"

                                       has long been dead.

They won't pass on to my children.

I'll give them Chief Joseph, the bison herds,

Ishi, sparrowhawk, the fir trees,

the Buddha. their own naked bodies,

swimming and dancing and singing

                                       instead.

As I kill the white man

      the "American"

                                       in me

And dance out the Ghost Dance:

To bring back America, the grass and the streams,

To trample your throat in your dreams.

This magic I work, this loving I give

     That my children may flourish

And yours won't live.