Carter

"Trailing through the mountains in the winters evening sun
Walking through patterns on the trail
Sloping toward the cabin; been on the turkey run
It's a haven that the Cherokee knows well.

Watch along the mountain rim and see the morning birth
Listen for the windsong through the tree
Feel the life a' springing from Mon-o-Lah, the earth
And you'll know The Way of all the Cherokee.

Know the death in life is here every breaking day
That one without the other, cannot be
Learn the wisdom of Mon-o-Lah,
And then you'll know the way
And touch the soul of all the Cherokee."

I had no idea who "Forrest" Carter actually was until last weekend. I am torn about keeping these passages in my commonplace books. Would I own a piece of art painted by Charles Manson? Would I in any way indulge in the legitimization of a person who is anathema to everything I am and believe? Can I divorce the man from the art? I don't know the answer to this.


December 20, 1996