Intelligible to them

They had developed clarity
For living on the land
Gave them the exposure
Which helped them understand
They had that visible evidence
The horizon they could see
It all was recognizable
Eye-catching strikingly

And they possessed true intellect
Reasoning power to see
Their consciousness was evident
With an extra-sensory perspective
With enquiring minds i am sure
Their inquisitiveness and curiousness
Was something to adore

Indigenous Patagonians
Born to sail the sea
The ocean their devotion
Its where they liked to be
Paddle boats of small dimension
Made of wood and palm
With some knowledge of the weather
And how to keep from harm

A wariness and contemplation
Mindful all the day
They knew what they were doing
Single-mindedly I’d say
It was never down to guesswork
They had insight and they knew
How to distinguish from the tides
And the waves that did ensue

They had witnessed many an upset
They were qualified to sail
They understood the seasons
They knew the safest trail
Using intuition and a manifested charm
They were undeniably efficient
Staying out of harm

The language of the ocean
They adopted one by one
The great Pacific Ocean
Its vastness to the sun
The great azure cacophony
Implanted in their soul
Their communion with the cosmos
Apparently a goal

With what is an amazing coastline
Of over 3000 miles
On a profound precipice
It just goes off the dials
To imagine this long ribbon
Of land that stretches far
With Many many islands
Great currents and every star

That shines down from the sky
Painted faces water nomads
A moving sculptor high
The people were creation
The drum beat of the soul
The music of the mountains
Is how they did control

Sea man they were able in their true canoes
They were master mariners
Freethinkers just to choose
The means and then be able
Unbridled in that way
To ply between the islands
On any given day

And where have all the indigenous gone
With all their knowledge they
Got from the environment
They learned more everyday
It was just organic
For their attention span
Was inevitably progressive
From where their life began

The years of pratical living
Their values all were there
An ongoing apprenticeship
Then slavery and despair
Took over when the government
Changed and what we saw
Was subjection and oppression
Trampled on for sure

All around the world we have seen it
We have witnessed the demise
Of the indigenous nations
The elders and the wise
Lies were told permission sought
To do away with those
Who really had the where for all
And were part of the prose

They took away their true canoes
Their language too they said
Was savage its was nothing
SPanish language led
The way for all the people
And the great indigenous way
Was trampled on, the culture lost
And they then were made to pay

Many have their lives taken
Ten shilling for each childs ear
That was the bounty paid out
Imagine how the fear
Rose like a tsunami and stretched
Across the sea
The land the mountains everywhere
That the indigenous might be

They were the PAtagonians
A truly natural race
But one by one were slaughtered
It was just a disgrace
Again they were the guardians
Of sea of earth of sky
Thousands of them murdered
And many sadly lie

Beneath the waves
Weighted down with heavy metal rails
Many were dropped from helicopters
Forming ghostly trails
Down onto the ocean floor
Hidden from the world
Lost souls lying peacefully
Where they had been hurled

The loss of these fine people
It has happened everywhere
The lack of understanding
The ability to share
Wealth money and markets
Free spending and the rest
And those and there are survivors
Have been so put to the test

Of living enclosed in concrete and glass
In houses side by side
These were people of the sea
Their tails in life denied
Their culture it was stamped upon
They were taught to be
SPanish never native
Locked up and never free

Frugality was laughed about
Sound stewardship was not
It was all about great wastefulness
Squandering the lot
Truthfulness and emotion
Not the order of the day
And the alcohol became the thing
To drive ones blues away

There are still little pockets
Of people who still speak
kawesquar and Yamana
They are out there and they seek
The old ways and the sailing
But are forced to stay away
From sailing in their real canoes
That now are on display

And the people seldom use the sea
This wide expanse of blue
With all the life existing there
Really they dont do
Anything for uses are scant one has to say
They adnire it from a distance
But thats all that appears their way

They mistrust the great huge vastness
And its possibility
It really holds a prominent place
In all there is to see
If only we could have pooled their knowledge
And not imagined that we
Were intelligent beyond their scope
We would have most certainly

Come along way passed where we
Are for surely they
Had myriads of knowledge
And could have shared the way
Forward to advancement
Into the ethereal vein
And created far more beauty
And wonderment again

Irreverence and ignorance
And so much disbelief
Really just indifference
And what was widespread grief
The rush to make the changes
To democratise and show
The masses they were better off
If they didnt know

Much of what was going on
And they lived with dear
The bogey man was everywhere
Threats were very clear
Dishonesty top down and insincerity to boot
Venality and corruption
Really at the root

Selfishness and wickedness
Crimes with out remorse
Unregretting obdurate
Intemperance of course
Consumerism self indulgence
Drugs and intoxication
Lawbreaking really everywhere
Right across the nation

Those indigenous elders
And there are some around
Condemned and punished
In recent years
Have gone underground
Somewhat with their languages
And culture and their care
And they watch all the pollution
Which is almost everywhere