The Ancestors Are Smiling

cbc photo

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his children

attended the opening ceremonies of

Tla o qui aht Days in Tofino.

The lead dancer holds up a feather
in each hand.
Behind her, the children follow,
one step, step-step-step, one step,
dipping and weaving
to the sound of the drum.

In a circle, the warriors sing
and pound their drums in a steady beat,
songs handed down
from grandfather to father to son,
songs of heritage,
songs of healing,
songs of pride in culture,
songs of coming home.

"The ancestors are smiling today,"
says the chief.
I can almost see them,
on the edge of the circle,
behind the veil between
this life and the sky world,
holding up their hands
in support of the dancers,
swaying to the beat of the drums.


for Isy's prompt at Real Toads: Writing Unseen, to write about something you can't see fully. The other day I attended  Tla o qui aht Days, a celebration of the rich culture of the Nuu chah nulth people, in whose territory we are privileged to live.

Prime Minister Trudeau was here in town on a family vacation. First Nations invited him to attend and he accepted.

Tofino Summer

Fog rolling in to the harbour

in midafternoon

Wickaninnish Beach, overcast, with surfers

Always lots of driftwood

I saw bear scat on the trail

but there were so many people everywhere,

I'm sure the wildlife retreats during the day

On the path to South Beach

I stopped in at the Kwisitis Visitor Centre.

Kwisitis means "the other end of the beach".

This building, long ago, was the original

Wickaninnish Inn.

The carvings of the warriors

and the artwork are breathtaking

A scene from early times

A photo of the mudflats

Surfers were plentiful - they're

the clump of little dots on the left

Wickaninnish waves,

forever advancing and retreating

in my heart

The Art of Mending

Mending the Earth 

image by Robert Parke Harrison

***

How to mend the heart

so grievously injured?

Infusions of love.

  ***

To help the oppressed,

we must extend our full hands

and give all we have.

           ***

How mend Mother Earth

ravaged by corporate greed?

With cupped hands, and our tears.

          ***

So much is broken

but it still can be mended:

Compassionate action.

           ***

How fight the darkness,

the tyrants, the injustice?

Pray. March. Act. Write. Vote.

          ***

for Sumana's prompt at Midweek Motif: Kintsugi: Art of Mending

Lord knows this poor world, its people and all of its creatures are in desperate need of healing, mending, turning a corner from darkness into the light.

Traveler Holds the Moon

Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin

at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Traveler wants to

hold life to her

like a huge

buttery yellow

moon.

She wants to

sip summer

out of a periwinkle blue cup

and listen to frogs

serenade

every evening

beside the pond

in a place

where winter

never comes.

Traveler wants

to roll downhill

with six tumbling

golden puppies,

to watch babies smile,

and old couples

hold hands.

She wants

to watch

the sun go down

beside the sea

for six thousand more

spectacular sunsets,

and wake to see

the sun peep

up over the hill

six thousand and one more

hopeful mornings.

The older she gets,

the farther she walks,

the more she wants

to hold close

all that is

swiftly

and silently

slowly

slipping away.

This poem is from a Soul Card Journey I made in April 2011, with Elizabeth, during NaPoWriMo. Each morning we looked at the day's card and then I began tapping the keys, feeling like I was taking dictation. It was an amazing journey, as yet unequaled.

Shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United, where there is guaranteed to be good reading every Sunday morning.

Burnt

Sun through smoke in Campbell River

photo by Brad Bourget

Wildfires burn;

 haze covers land,

 blanket of gloom.

Eerie sun,

apocalyptic sky,

a portent of doom.

Flames crackle,

wildlife flee,

humans displaced.

Everything burns,

a reckoning come

for the human race.

Mother Earth seeks relief

from unending heat,

but Sky has no tears.

 The land burns on,

the forests gone.

We're left

with our fears.

for  Flash 55 at Real Toads 

source Times Colonist, August 5, 2017:

........as of 9 a.m. today, there were 122 wildfires burning in B.C. As of 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, there were 25 evacuation orders affecting approximately 7,127 individuals, plus 42 evacuation alerts impacting approximately 24,957 people.

Last Evening's Walk

Last night I wandered down to First Street dock 

to catch the sunset. 

I got there just in time. The sun was already

sliding behind the hills.

I love the misty shades of Catface 

in the evening.

Lone Cone, with Catface in the background

It is a busy harbour, between boats, planes,

kayaks, humans and water dwellers.

The far mountains turned

such a lovely blue.

As the sun disappeared,

humans slowly wandered off

to pursue their evening activities,

and I hobbled home, well content.

In Search of Freedom

How I admire the beauty

 of this pink flower,

who blooms

despite the terror 

she has known.

It is a hard world

for girl children,

those pink bundles

who begin life 

so innocent and new.

Bloom on,

small blossoms.

Your journey

beautifies

the world,

and "the stars 

are always with you*."

for Susan's prompt at Midweek Motif: trafficking

*The quote is from this young woman's speech. As Yeonmi Park traveled her harrowing journey from North Korea to freedom, she felt "only the stars were with us." She also said that in Korea there is a saying, "Women are weak, but mothers are strong." I do think women are extraordinarily strong, or we would not survive our lives, especially women in the Third World. I just discovered she has written a book, "In Order to Live", which I am looking forward to reading.