Poem Paraphrase

Last Words of the Prophet -Anonymous
Farewell, my younger brother!
From the holy places the gods come for me.
You will never see me again; but when the showers pass and the thunders peal,
“There,” you will say, “is the voice of my elder brother.”
And when the harvest comes, of the beautiful birds and grasshoppers you will say,
“There is the ordering of my elder brother!”

The author is addressing his younger brother as he has died, as though this poem is his final message to his brother before he crosses over. He wants his brother to recognize that he lives within the elements of nature and his brother can look to these elements and remain close to him, though he has died. The author also wants his brother to know that he will continue to care for him and all people for that matter, through bountiful harvests and the wild animals. In this way, the author never really dies. He simply lives in another way, through that which affects the earth and his people.