MADAWASKA’S NECKLACE

There is a legend from the ancient ones
about our sister the loon.
Her name is Madawaska,
the singer of nightly tunes.
She wears a necklace made of pearls,
a gift from Brother Moon.
They say each pearl is a tear drop
shed by the lady of the pond
when sly fox stole her children,
and she found they all were gone.
The moon saw her sadness
and changed each tear to a pearl
that has ever since that night
around the loon’s throat swirled.

You can still hear her sadness
in her mournful plea
across the pond and echoed
across the mountains and the lea
as she mourns for her children
while moonlight on water swirls
and turns her every teardrop
into another lovely pearl.

This is an Indian legend
that comes from times of old;
The tale of Madawaska’s necklace
and the legend is still told.

Annette Bromley