In 1898 Tahirassawichi went to Washington
"only to speak about religion"
(as he told the American government)
only to preserve the prayers.
And the Capitol did not impress him."
--from "Tahirassawichi in Washington"

Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan poet, priest, and revolutionary, foresees a new order for humanity. Here in his Indian poems, Father Cardenal interweaves myth, legend, history, and contemporary reality to speak to many subjects, including the assaults on the Iroquois Nation, the political and cultural life of ancient Mexico, the Ghost Dance movement, the...