When Nature Gives You Porcupines

A porcupine, when threatened, will Let loose upon his foe a quill Or actually, I have a hunch That he’d release a giant bunch. I always knew about that use But never knew that a papoose Could find what every baby needs Where quills are used instead of beads. Yes, cradleboards and moccasins And shirts or cloaks made out of skins Were gussied up with filed-down quills By Indians with awesome skills. A new exhibit at the Met* Has beadwork that I won’t forget By Natives living on the Plains Where porcupines shared their domains. Or that is what I must assume For every ornament and plume They used to sew with (all by hand) Was found nearby on native land. That’s how it was in times gone by; The local life could satisfy. Those Indians, now mostly gone, Today’d rely on Amazon! *Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC