translated from the Sioux by Frances Densmore
When I was but a child
I dreamed a wondrous dream.
I went upon a mountain;
There I fell asleep.
I heard a voice say,
“Now will I appear to you.”
A buffalo said this to me, dreaming.
When I was but a child
I dreamed this wondrous dream.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 30, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.