sina ken pona e ona kepeken ilo poki Kita

ona li toki e ni: You will eat, by and by; in that glorious land in the sky… -- Salt Lake City, 1915. A late autumn chill has begun to spread over the valley, from the grand Wasatch mountains in the east to the Great Salt Lake in the west. In the southeastern corner of town, in a neighborhood called Sugar House — named for the old Mormon sugar mill which once stood there — a man sits alone in a prison cell, condemned to die by firing squad. Though he faces a grim fate, the man maintains a stern, resolute gaze as he puts these words to paper: This is my last and final Will— Good Luck to all of you. Joe Hill Though an innocent man, Swedish-American union organizer and songwriter Joe Hill was charged, tried, and convicted of the 1914 murder of a local grocer and his son, and was subsequently put to death on November 19, 1915 at the Sugar House Prison in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visitors to today's Sugar House Park are astonished to learn that the rolling green hills before them once framed the austere walls of a prison complex. There, in 2015, I had the opportunity to attend a centennial celebration and folk music concert in honor of Joe Hill and his legacy. In addition to meeting Duncan Phillips, son of the late folk music legend Utah Phillips, it was at this performance where I first heard what is likely Hill's most famous song, "The Preacher and the Slave." The song is a scathing critique of the Salvation Army and other religious organizations which demand both reverence and financial contributions while offering to the poor and destitute only the empty assurance that a grand reward awaits in the afterlife: "You'll get pie in the sky when you die." The following is my attempt at a Toki Pona rendition of Hill's immortal ballad. May we all beware the "long-haired preachers" of our modern age, religious or otherwise- who put wealth before welfare, piety before practice, convenience before compassion. Special thanks to jan Masu for help and general advice on the translation!

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ona li tan toki ante. toki ante ni li The Preacher and the Slave li tan Joe Hill