The Last of the Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans
An Amphibrachic Composition on Cooper's American Epic

Through forests primeval where red men once wandered,
Where war-paint and feathers through green shadows pondered,
Came Hawkeye the scout with his long rifle ready,
His Mohican companions both faithful and steady.

Uncas the noble, young warrior so fearless,
And Chingachgook, father, whose wisdom was peerless,
Together they traveled through wilderness dangers,
To rescue fair maidens from hostile war-strangers.

The French and the British were locked in fierce battle,
While tomahawks echoed like thunder and rattle,
Fort William Henry stood under fierce siege,
As cultures collided in warfare and league.

Sweet Cora and Alice, two sisters in peril,
Were captured by Magua, that chief wild and feral,
Who sought his revenge on the English commander,
Through valleys and rivers, a vengeful marauder.

But Uncas pursued them with love's dedication,
The last of his people, his tribe's final station,
He died for fair Cora on cliffs high and lonely,
His race passing onward, remembered by only

The few who witnessed that era's conclusion,
When wilderness yielded to progress' intrusion,
And Chingachgook mourned as the last of Mohicans,
While civilization conquered America's regions.

Cooper's great novel preserves in its pages
The clash between worlds through historical ages,
Where noble red warriors and pioneers meeting
Created a legend both tragic and fleeting.