The Song Of Hiawatha - XXII - Hiawathas Departure

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
    By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
    At the doorway of his wigwam,
    In the pleasant Summer morning,
    Hiawatha stood and waited.
    All the air was full of freshness,
    All the earth was bright and joyous,
    And before him, through the sunshine,
    Westward toward the neighboring forest
    Passed in golden swarms the Ahmo,
    Passed the bees, the honey-makers,
    Burning, singing in the sunshine.
        Bright above him shone the heavens,
    Level spread the lake before him;
    From its bosom leaped the sturgeon,
    Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine;
    On its margin the great forest
    Stood reflected in the water,
    Every tree-top had its shadow,
    Motionless beneath the water.
        From the brow of Hiawatha
    Gone was every trace of sorrow,
    As the fog from off the water,
    As the mist from off the meadow.
    With a smile of joy and triumph,
    With a look of exultation,
    As of one who in a vision
    Sees what is to be, but is not,
    Stood and waited Hiawatha.
        Toward the sun his hands were lifted,
    Both the palms spread out against it,
    And between the parted fingers
    Fell the sunshine on his features,
    Flecked with light his naked shoulders,
    As it falls and flecks an oak-tree
    Through the rifted leaves and branches.
        O'er the water floating, flying,
    Something in the hazy distance,
    Something in the mists of morning,
    Loomed and lifted from the water,
    Now seemed floating, now seemed flying,
    Coming nearer, nearer, nearer.
        Was it Shingebis the diver?
    Or the pelican, the Shada?
    Or the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah?
    Or the white goose, Waw-be-wawa,
    With the water dripping, flashing,
    From its glossy neck and feathers?
        It was neither goose nor diver,
    Neither pelican nor heron,
    O'er the water floating, flying,
    Through the shining mist of morning,
    But a birch canoe with paddles,
    Rising, sinking on the water,
    Dripping, flashing in the sunshine;
    And within it came a people
    From the distant land of Wabun,
    From the farthest realms of morning
    Came the Black-Robe chief, the Prophet,
    He the Priest of Prayer, the Pale-face,
    With his guides and his companions.
        And the noble Hiawatha,
    With his hands aloft extended,
    Held aloft in sign of welcome,
    Waited, full of exultation,
    Till the birch canoe with paddles
    Grated on the shining pebbles,
    Stranded on the sandy margin,
    Till the Black-Robe chief, the Pale-face,
    With the cross upon his bosom,
    Landed on the sandy margin.
        Then the joyous Hiawatha
    Cried aloud and spake in this wise:
    "Beautiful is the sun, O strangers,
    When you come so far to see us!
    All our town in peace awaits you,
    All our doors stand open for you;
    You shall enter all our wigwams,
    For the heart's right hand we give you.
        "Never bloomed the earth so gayly,
    Never shone the sun so brightly,
    As to-day they shine and blossom
    When you come so far to see us!
    Never was our lake so tranquil,
    Nor so free from rocks, and sand-bars;
    For your birch canoe in passing
    Has removed both rock and sand-bar.
        "Never before had our tobacco
    Such a sweet and pleasant flavor,
    Never the broad leaves of our cornfields
    Were so beautiful to look on,
    As they seem to us this morning,
    When you come so far to see us!'
        And the Black-Robe chief made answer,
    Stammered in his speech a little,
    Speaking words yet unfamiliar:
    "Peace be with you, Hiawatha,
    Peace be with you and your people,
    Peace of prayer, and peace of pardon,
    Peace of Christ, and joy of Mary!"
        Then the generous Hiawatha
    Led the strangers to his wigwam,
    Seated them on skins of bison,
    Seated them on skins of ermine,
    And the careful old Nokomis
    Brought them food in bowls of basswood,
    Water brought in birchen dippers,
    And the calumet, the peace-pipe,
    Filled and lighted for their smoking.
        All the old men of the village,
    All the warriors of the nation,
    All the Jossakeeds, the Prophets,
    The magicians, the Wabenos,
    And the Medicine-men, the Medas,
    Came to bid the strangers welcome;
    "It is well", they said, "O brothers,
    That you come so far to see us!"
        In a circle round the doorway,
    With their pipes they sat in silence,
    Waiting to behold the strangers,
    Waiting to receive their message;
    Till the Black-Robe chief, the Pale-face,
    From the wigwam came to greet them,
    Stammering in his speech a little,
    Speaking words yet unfamiliar;
    "It is well," they said, "O brother,
    That you come so far to see us!"
        Then the Black-Robe chief, the Prophet,
    Told his message to the people,
    Told the purport of his mission,
    Told them of the Virgin Mary,
    And her blessed Son, the Saviour,
    How in distant lands and ages
    He had lived on earth as we do;
    How he fasted, prayed, and labored;
    How the Jews, the tribe accursed,
    Mocked him, scourged him, crucified him;
    How he rose from where they laid him,
    Walked again with his disciples,
    And ascended into heaven.
        And the chiefs made answer, saying:
    "We have listened to your message,
    We have heard your words of wisdom,
    We will think on what you tell us.
    It is well for us, O brothers,
    That you come so far to see us!"
        Then they rose up and departed
    Each one homeward to his wigwam,
    To the young men and the women
    Told the story of the strangers
    Whom the Master of Life had sent them
    From the shining land of Wabun.
        Heavy with the heat and silence
    Grew the afternoon of Summer;
    With a drowsy sound the forest
    Whispered round the sultry wigwam,
    With a sound of sleep the water
    Rippled on the beach below it;
    From the cornfields shrill and ceaseless
    Sang the grasshopper, Pah-puk-keena;
    And the guests of Hiawatha,
    Weary with the heat of Summer,
    Slumbered in the sultry wigwam.
        Slowly o'er the simmering landscape
    Fell the evening's dusk and coolness,
    And the long and level sunbeams
    Shot their spears into the forest,
    Breaking through its shields of shadow,
    Rushed into each secret ambush,
    Searched each thicket, dingle, hollow;
    Still the guests of Hiawatha
    Slumbered in the silent wigwam.
        From his place rose Hiawatha,
    Bade farewell to old Nokomis,
    Spake in whispers, spake in this wise,
    Did not wake the guests, that slumbered.
        "I am going, O Nokomis,
    On a long and distant journey,
    To the portals of the Sunset.
    To the regions of the home-wind,
    Of the Northwest-Wind, Keewaydin.
    But these guests I leave behind me,
    In your watch and ward I leave them;
    See that never harm comes near them,
    See that never fear molests them,
    Never danger nor suspicion,
    Never want of food or shelter,
    In the lodge of Hiawatha!"
        Forth into the village went he,
    Bade farewell to all the warriors,
    Bade farewell to all the young men,
    Spake persuading, spake in this wise:
        "I am going, O my people,
    On a long and distant journey;
    Many moons and many winters
    Will have come, and will have vanished,
    Ere I come again to see you.
    But my guests I leave behind me;
    Listen to their words of wisdom,
    Listen to the truth they tell you,
    For the Master of Life has sent them
    From the land of light and morning!"
        On the shore stood Hiawatha,
    Turned and waved his hand at parting;
    On the clear and luminous water
    Launched his birch canoe for sailing,
    From the pebbles of the margin
    Shoved it forth into the water;
    Whispered to it, "Westward! westward!"
    And with speed it darted forward.
        And the evening sun descending
    Set the clouds on fire with redness,
    Burned the broad sky, like a prairie,
    Left upon the level water
    One long track and trail of splendor,
    Down whose stream, as down a river,
    Westward, westward Hiawatha
    Sailed into the fiery sunset,
    Sailed into the purple vapors,
    Sailed into the dusk of evening:
        And the people from the margin
    Watched him floating, rising, sinking,
    Till the birch canoe seemed lifted
    High into that sea of splendor,
    Till it sank into the vapors
    Like the new moon slowly, slowly
    Sinking in the purple distance.
        And they said, "Farewell forever!"
    Said, "Farewell, O Hiawatha!"
    And the forests, dark and lonely,
    Moved through all their depths of darkness,
    Sighed, "Farewell, O Hiawatha!"
    And the waves upon the margin
    Rising, rippling on the pebbles,
    Sobbed, "Farewell, O Hiawatha!"
    And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah,
    From her haunts among the fen-lands,
    Screamed, "Farewell, O Hiawatha!"
         Thus departed Hiawatha,
    Hiawatha the Beloved,
    In the glory of the sunset,.
    In the purple mists of evening,
    To the regions of the home-wind,
    Of the Northwest-Wind, Keewaydin,
    To the Islands of the Blessed,
    To the Kingdom of Ponemah,
    To the Land of the Hereafter!