Nature Power. Harry Robinson
“You think you’re going to make a fun out of me.”
“Well,” he says.
“That’s what I think.”
“You do not think of that.
You my friend.
You boy, and I’m a boy.
We both boy.
So, it’s better to be friends
instead of making fun out of me.
Now, I’m going to tell you something.
This stump—you think it’s a stump—
but that’s my grandfather.
He’s very, very old man.
Old, old man.
He can talk to you.
He can tell you what you going to be
when you get to be middle aged, or more.
But you’re not going to be like that now,
right away.
Later on.
When you get to be middle aged.
My grandfather that will tell you … ”
Then, just in a second, then he could see,
supposed to be the son
but he was an old, old man.
He setting there.
And he talked.
And told ’em,
“You see me.
You see my body.
It was hit by the bullet for many, many years.
Hit by the bullet.
That’s why you could see, all smooth.
That’s bullet marks.
And the bullet, when they hit me—the bullet—
they never go through my skin.
They never go through my body.
For a long, long time.
You look how old I was.
I been hit with a bullet for many years.
I never get killed.
The bullet never go in through my body.
So now, that’s the way you going to be.
When you get to be a man.
If somebody shoots you,
with the bow and arrow, or gun.”
At those days, they had the gun,
like the first gun like they have.
“Then, if anybody shoot you,
you going to be just like me.
The bullet never will go into your skin.
And that’s going to be your power.”
And he started to sing.
He sing the song,
that old man.
And the chipmunk was a boy,
turn to be a boy.
He sing the song.
The both of ’em talked to him.
And he’s got two power.
And he sing the song.
The three of ’em sing the song,
for a while.
Then told ’em that, that would be enough.
Then, in the same way, he don’t know what happened
and he went to sleep.
First thing he know, he was WAY down.
He must’ve rolled, or sliding, or somehow,
but WAY down.
When he wake up.
And he wake up and then his people were around,
way up there, looking for him.
They couldn’t find ’em.
But he get up and he could see his people WAY up.
And then he got up and they holler.
Then, these other people,
“My God!” they holler way down.
They must’ve go down that way.
But the last he knew, right by that stump.
No more.
But he might’ve walked down or might’ve rolled.
Nobody know.
But he was WAY down when they come to him.
But he knows already what he’s going to be
when he get to be a man.
So, that’s the way he get his power.
Then, when he get to be a man,
’bout middle age or more,
and told him again,
“Now is his time. For you.
You’re not going to use your power for anybody.
Just for you.”
So that’s Sash-AP-kin is a power man
but his power, never use for anybody,
you know, just for himself.
Then, one time, just so they could show, I think,
somehow that they had trouble with the white people.
And finally these white people,
those days, all the white people that comes,
they all bad, you know.
They mean.
They tough.
So they—they shoot him.
He shoot him with a rifle.
But they never get him.
They never kill him.
Those days, there’s different rifles they use.
They got the powder they put right in the rifle.
Then put the lead in there
and put the rag in there
and put powder to the rag.
Then put some more rags.
Then they put the lead in.
And then they put some more rags on top of the lead,
to keep the lead in place.
Then—they got the hammer just like the other gun.
Then they pull the trigger.
Then this is expired or exploded.
Then the bullet went, “Bang!”
Then they smoke.
They fired two shots.
They got two bar, you know, more like a shotgun.
Fire the both of ’em.
Quite the smoke.
When they shoots him with that.
When the smoke was all over,
he still there.
He