(A return journey home to fulfill.)

Pilamaye … for Sending Fireflies©

Your time with us so short-lived,
Mere seconds but memories strong;
Rosebud children, waiting, restless
To return to where you belong.

That time of man in our land;
Cultural destruction forced you away.
Sadness reigns, your innocence lost,
Now a century-wide, without play.

Rosebud children, forgive our error;
We can cry no more, but still do.
Pilamaye … for sending fireflies,
Acknowledging our prayers for you.

The Lakota yearn for its children,
Knowing whom they no longer see;
The motherland mourns but beckons,
As others now, finally, hear her plea.

Our mission nothing more vital,
Our fight to never stand still,
Our task to keep on bringing,
Your return journey home to fulfill.

Rosebud children, to you we vow;
Soon, your spirits will cease to roam,
As your Sioux brothers and sisters
Will find your peace, bring you home.

Rob Spina