Rosewall
The gripped magic
Of this view
All of this from a seed
Out into spruce, pine
Even magnolia with darling buds of pristine pink
Stretched birches
The overhang of elms
So hold my eyes:
A stellar jay
And to my left, below sandstone ridge
Runs a River, clear and distinct
Floating over a riparian of rocks
Like a widow’s shawl
I sift through, and find a stone
Weathered mint-gold limestone
I ponder it value, if I took it to the teller and sold…
No.
I render back to Her, what is Hers
It is there
As I walk back to tarred pavement
From the hidden kingdom
As steadily
As the brook goes
Finding its way from marauder
As ancient as the forest is a home.
Do I cry for the magic
Lost in civilization’s plume
Of this view
All of this from a seed
Out into spruce, pine
Even magnolia with darling buds of pristine pink
Stretched birches
The overhang of elms
So hold my eyes:
A stellar jay
And to my left, below sandstone ridge
Runs a River, clear and distinct
Floating over a riparian of rocks
Like a widow’s shawl
I sift through, and find a stone
Weathered mint-gold limestone
I ponder it value, if I took it to the teller and sold…
No.
I render back to Her, what is Hers
It is there
As I walk back to tarred pavement
From the hidden kingdom
As steadily
As the brook goes
Finding its way from marauder
As ancient as the forest is a home.
Do I cry for the magic
Lost in civilization’s plume
Black Fear
Purple shells light up the sand
Tangerine sun stars grip to mussel-kissed rock
Maroon crabs scurrow about
Healthy bank of sand dollars under livid tide
Gooey ducks barrel down their holes we chase
Brown heads of the otter bob
In the great expanse of azuline sea
Crystalline sky, pearl seagulls cut through
Overhang
The child
Sifting wet sand
Feeling what its like: soft skin against the grain
Sharp tickle of spider crab on his palm
Pristine discovery.
He takes in a lung-full of
Sea breeze, the timeless scent of the Beach
He runs, suddenly, aware that he can
Run freely into the vast mouth of tide
Each thumping footprint oozing
Into the ancient floor
The wind carries him,
The animals flourish amidst his curious
Presence
I ran through the mist after him,
Cool salty goodness ricochets. Laughter.
My brother, oblivious to my steady grip
Shadowing fear.
In a dream that night
I dreamt the sea was black with oil. All life was dead, and thus hope and joy.
There was no color but ebony and grey, and my brother no longer
Leapt with joy at the sound of
Seagull’s call.
I fear a dream come true.
Tangerine sun stars grip to mussel-kissed rock
Maroon crabs scurrow about
Healthy bank of sand dollars under livid tide
Gooey ducks barrel down their holes we chase
Brown heads of the otter bob
In the great expanse of azuline sea
Crystalline sky, pearl seagulls cut through
Overhang
The child
Sifting wet sand
Feeling what its like: soft skin against the grain
Sharp tickle of spider crab on his palm
Pristine discovery.
He takes in a lung-full of
Sea breeze, the timeless scent of the Beach
He runs, suddenly, aware that he can
Run freely into the vast mouth of tide
Each thumping footprint oozing
Into the ancient floor
The wind carries him,
The animals flourish amidst his curious
Presence
I ran through the mist after him,
Cool salty goodness ricochets. Laughter.
My brother, oblivious to my steady grip
Shadowing fear.
In a dream that night
I dreamt the sea was black with oil. All life was dead, and thus hope and joy.
There was no color but ebony and grey, and my brother no longer
Leapt with joy at the sound of
Seagull’s call.
I fear a dream come true.
I Smell Smoke
Seven:
Schoolyard Witness: a genocide of trees.
Decapitated, blood of bark
Stains polyester playground, the eerie cries
Of glee, that laughter we exchanged
In the Forest come and go as ghosts
Buried into artificial turf
We cannot climb the monkey bars
Without reminiscence of freedom
Of climbing the trunks of our Supervisors
The old pine-scented wind at our backs
In the all-consuming fire, there is life lost
In a stack of shaved logs
Burning what kept us together
What kept adventure alive.
Now we are walking tombs
Marking a childhood without trees to climb
A forest to take refuge in.
To explore and find where we came from.
Where we belong
Schoolyard Witness: a genocide of trees.
Decapitated, blood of bark
Stains polyester playground, the eerie cries
Of glee, that laughter we exchanged
In the Forest come and go as ghosts
Buried into artificial turf
We cannot climb the monkey bars
Without reminiscence of freedom
Of climbing the trunks of our Supervisors
The old pine-scented wind at our backs
In the all-consuming fire, there is life lost
In a stack of shaved logs
Burning what kept us together
What kept adventure alive.
Now we are walking tombs
Marking a childhood without trees to climb
A forest to take refuge in.
To explore and find where we came from.
Where we belong
The Definition of Oil
Oil has two definitions:
The compaction of fossilized marine creatures and, money
Oil is black, anticyclone wells between deep sedimentary folds
Of earth
“Oil!”
Shouts bureaucracy
Capitalism. Shareholders. CEO’s. Alberta men with chapped, blackened hands.
But I do not hear the demands of those Indians
And the gentle whispers, the sounds of mother earth
Scolding our ignorance
That is bliss. Bliss.
For we can drive. We fly. We move across waters. We chew gum.
Our homes are warmed without open flames. Industries are kept busy building products we buy at Wal-Mart. Business is kept alive.
And then we die.
And oil feces, the smoke you see leaking as fog on our walkways
Into our lungs, child’s lungs
My unborn babe’s lungs
Oil, scattered on the earth, has a third definition: dust.
Like us, fashioned from the ground. Evolving
And like chasing the wind
How futile is life
For like lilies of the valley
We are blown back into the particles that gave us a heartbeat
The compaction of fossilized marine creatures and, money
Oil is black, anticyclone wells between deep sedimentary folds
Of earth
“Oil!”
Shouts bureaucracy
Capitalism. Shareholders. CEO’s. Alberta men with chapped, blackened hands.
But I do not hear the demands of those Indians
And the gentle whispers, the sounds of mother earth
Scolding our ignorance
That is bliss. Bliss.
For we can drive. We fly. We move across waters. We chew gum.
Our homes are warmed without open flames. Industries are kept busy building products we buy at Wal-Mart. Business is kept alive.
And then we die.
And oil feces, the smoke you see leaking as fog on our walkways
Into our lungs, child’s lungs
My unborn babe’s lungs
Oil, scattered on the earth, has a third definition: dust.
Like us, fashioned from the ground. Evolving
And like chasing the wind
How futile is life
For like lilies of the valley
We are blown back into the particles that gave us a heartbeat
Just Like That
Just like that
The eagle launches
From her tree-top nest
And dives for dinner
Plunges into open water
Just like that
The eagle launches
From her tree-top nest
And dives for dinner
Plunges into open water
Just like that
Home Garden
A house is not a home without a garden
Without fresh soil
Steamed by hot sun
Table scrap compost
Feeding fragile seeds
In time will return your favour
Patience, of all- hope.
I remember eating my first
Raspberry of summer
Unique species than supermarket kind
I remember my dad
Showing me how to trill
Plant 1 inch down (half thumb-nail) down, apart
Prepare compost, spread thin
Hearing him remind me to water
And not eat all the fruit
When it ripens
You need dirt.
To explore a kingdom
To witness the strength of an ant,
The kindness of a worm,
The artistry of a black widow
A house in not a home
Without a family working together
To prepare dinner
For all seasons
To watch life unfurl
Nutrition at hand’s grasp
Beauty in all eyes
Without fresh soil
Steamed by hot sun
Table scrap compost
Feeding fragile seeds
In time will return your favour
Patience, of all- hope.
I remember eating my first
Raspberry of summer
Unique species than supermarket kind
I remember my dad
Showing me how to trill
Plant 1 inch down (half thumb-nail) down, apart
Prepare compost, spread thin
Hearing him remind me to water
And not eat all the fruit
When it ripens
You need dirt.
To explore a kingdom
To witness the strength of an ant,
The kindness of a worm,
The artistry of a black widow
A house in not a home
Without a family working together
To prepare dinner
For all seasons
To watch life unfurl
Nutrition at hand’s grasp
Beauty in all eyes
Smoke
When every breath I breathe is smoke
How can I live.
Smoke from burning poison
Man’s might
Man’s will
Into my mouth, my lungs,
My adhesive alveoli, and
Into my bloodstream
Smoke- what is in it?
How do you define
This gray sullen cloud
A preying ghost
A silent stream
Of lethal air
Entering us without introduction
If so little we know
How ignorantly we die
Evaporate
Our ashes blow with the wind
Into pillars of silent smoke
How can I live.
Smoke from burning poison
Man’s might
Man’s will
Into my mouth, my lungs,
My adhesive alveoli, and
Into my bloodstream
Smoke- what is in it?
How do you define
This gray sullen cloud
A preying ghost
A silent stream
Of lethal air
Entering us without introduction
If so little we know
How ignorantly we die
Evaporate
Our ashes blow with the wind
Into pillars of silent smoke