Nanaboozhoo

As we were picking berries

my mother would often tell stories

many of which had lessons

included and especially for her sons

Once in a while she would tell a story

of how Nanaaboozhoo created all of the history

of Turtle Island. He was a trickster and even

though he would cause problems, he was woven

into many lessons that were helpful to learn.

She would say, this old world can be tough

and then she would start in on a nanaboozhoo

story that was an example of rough

I don't think she knew the stories were meant

to be told with snow on the ground, not cement

So, we are picking berries and she reminds us

of how important it is to make noise in the woods, plus

she tells us of how nanaboozhoo created zhigog

he used to look like a small dog

She says, Nanaboozhoo was walking through the woods

when he came upon a critter that scared him and he dropped his goods

He just that quick, lifted his stick

and tapped that critter on the head, it didn't make him sick

and another tap on the backside,

And there was zhigog, with a white stripe on his back and an odor

like no other ever created on this side

of earth and Nanaboozhoo said, okay now everything is in order.

My mother was afraid of bear, when picking berries

and she knew that we would definitely make some noise after those stories!