Behold the fulfilment of work ye began! Ears fully gifted with fruitage of kernels By the warmth of our maidens In embrace with your Rain youth; The seed of their persons All wrapped in soft garments And draped with the hair Of their full generation; All proportioned and formed By the touch of the Dew God; Made complete and mature By the touch of the Time God; Ripened fully, as food, By the touch of the Fire God! First, yet last of them all Is the plant of the Middle-- With its seven-fold kernels And hues of the embers-- Is the corn of all regions, The Í-to-pa-nah-na-kwe! Yet the earliest quickened By the eldest Corn maiden, Is the corn of the North land; Made yellow by flame-light,-- The hue of the North sky Seen in winter or gloaming,-- Is the strong ‘Hlúp-tsi-kwa-kwe! Then the corn of the West land By the next sister quickened,-- Made blue by the smoke-light,-- Is hued like the ocean Or shadows of evening,-- The rich ‘Hlí-a-kwa-kwe! Next, the corn of the South land, By the third sister quickened, Is red, like the flowers And fruitage of summer-- Made so by the brand-light-- Is the sweet Shí-k‘ya-na-kwe! Next the corn of the East land The fourth sister quickened, Is white, like the milk Which we drink in the morning Of life; like the light Of the dawning each morning-- Made so by full fire-light-- Is the pure K’ó-ha-kwa-kwe! Next, the corn of the Zenith, The fifth sister quickened, Is streaked like the sky With the clouds and the rainbow-- Made so by the spark-light-- Is the hard K’ú-chu-a-kwe! And next is the corn of The dark Lower regions The sixth sister quickened; Is black like the depth of The earth it emerged from-- Made so by the heat-light-- Is the soft Kwí-ni-kwa-kwe! Last, as first, is the Mid-most, Quickened first by the seventh Of all the Corn maidens; Bearing grains of each color-- Made so by the embers-- And seed of them all, Hence, the Tém-‘hla-nah-na-k‘ya, Í-to-pa-nah-na-kwe! "Thus, of the substance of all flesh is the seed of seeds, Corn! And suited to all peoples and places; yet we, brothers younger are with ye, favored in the light, in that together we are its priests and keepers. Let us therefore love it and cherish it, as we cherish and love our women; and it shall be the giver of milk to the youthful and of flesh to the aged, as our women folk are the givers of life to our youth and the sustainers of life in our age; for of the mother-milk of the Beloved Maidens it is filled, and of their flesh the substance. Eating thereof, thy youth shall grow strong and handsome, thy maidens beautiful and fruitful, even as are themselves, the Beloved Maidens, our mothers and thine!"