Die Mechdich Lechaa

All hail the Mighty Lehigh!

Low tide on the Lehigh by Jim Thorpe, PA

Great western river of Lenapehoking!
At low tide even does your spirit reach

From the rocks to the sky and beyond.

Great nourisher and benefactor
Your calm waters cede to rapids.
Your serene nature becomes fury.

Well known to us as die Lechaa,
You took us into your bosom.
You blessed the fields of the Deitsch,
And quenched our thirst for freedom.

The canal crews feared your swells,
Even while depending on you
For sustenance and livelihood.
Dumping soot and ash
Into your holy stream.
Yet you forgave us.

Your beauty never faded,
And You have regained power.
Oh, Mighty Lehigh!
Mechdichi Lechaa!
May we be worthy of your gifts.

                             - Robert L. Schreiwer, 2019

These Hills, These Mountains

These hills... These mountains...

Blobarrick from Mt. Pisgah, Carbon County, PA

Worn yet timeless
The oldest of the old
The spirits disturbed
By the plundering of coal

And the stripping of the hardwood

Slumber again 

Among the rocks
And the Mountain Laurel.

The restless spirits
Of the Lenape ancients
Roam these mountains
With the younger spirits.
Their imprint is forever
On the Mauch Chunk -
The Sleeping Bear.

The voices of the ancestors
Echo through the Gorge
From the Deitscherei in the south
To the coal towns to the north.
All of us are part of this Great Walk;
Generation after generation
Here on these hills... These mountains...

                                          - Robert L. Schreiwer, 2019