Passenger Pigeon Poetry
"The migratory or wild pigeon of North America was known by our race as O-me-me-wog." By Chief Pokagon - Simon Pokagon - of Michigan, a full-blooded Indian, the last Pottawattomie chief of the Pokagon band. From The Chautauquan," November, 1895. Vol. 22. No. 20. Reprinted in The Passenger Pigeon, by W.B. Mershon.
Me-me-og, The Wild Pigeon
- In springtime when the rosy hand of morning light
- Unfolds the curtain of an April night.
- And golden clouds float in the liquid blue.
- As guardian spirits, weeping crystal dew,
- The frightened woodsman, in wonder list'ning stands!
- Thinks a whirlwind is abroad in the land!
- Darkness increases, his eyes grow dim.
- And as he seeks shelter from the impending wind,
- Suddenly his fears are turned to joy, for he sees
- Sweeping through and high above the forest trees
- Millions of pigeons, on their north-bound way,
- Almost shutting out the morning light of day!
Captain O.W. Rowland. History of Van Buren County, Michigan. Volume 1.
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