Buffalo (Modified Rondel)
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Roaring thunder across the plains,
Buffalo herds once ruled the age,
In numbers far too vast to gage,
Muscle on hooves with mangy manes.
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Legendary long passing lanes,
Took days to reach the final stage,
For pioneers in wagontrains,
Buffalo herds once ruled the age,
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Until they came on iron trains,
When bison hunters turned the page,
Roaring thunder across the plains,
Buffalo herds once ruled the age.
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Their carcass rots, as rifles reign,
Millions gone, to the red man’s rage.
Systematic genocide waged,
Roaring thunder across the plains.
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Today in parks or small zoo cage,
Only echoes of past remains,
Roaring thunder across the plains,
Buffalo herds once ruled the age.
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| Author Notes
A great Slaughter of the Buffalo herds of North America occurred in the 1800’s. In a systematic genocide of the Native Americans and because ranchers wanted to fence off their land, the herds were killed off. Estimated to be between 40 and 60 Million, they were killed to near extinction by buffalo hunters who shot all day long leaving the bodies to rot, taking only the tongue and some hides. This was a main food source for the plains Indians. By the time they finishes, only about 750 remained of the vast herds the pioneers said took days to pass their wagontains as they headed west. The introduction of the iron horse (trains) facilitated movement and funding of the buffalo hunters.
For this poem I inserted an additional stanza and rearranged the order a bit. My rhyme scheme is: ABba abaB abAB abbA baAB, where the capitals represent the repeated lines. The syllable count is 8.
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