Canada & Alaska EddieEagles soarAbove barren scapesHigh into the blue greyLow onto the white Bald lauded scionReveredBold bumbling buffoonSneered Watched by millionsLazily circlingWatched by billionsFlappily stumbling Inherent ethosThrillsMarking supremacyOver domain Unlearnt talentSpillsDisplaying solesOn frosty plains Eagles landSome gracefullyOne asunder Blue on blueSoaring trees reach and stretchSeeking light from afarWarmth amid snowflakes Below, a rich tapestryUnfoldsCasting sight on traditions First amongst mortalsWelcome all to landCoastal Salish Ototemans stand mirroring treesMore colourfulStraight and proud Blasted by wind, transformedRaven façadesEchoing coarse fibre, celebratingMusqueam, Squamish and Tsiel-Waututh Empty tanks resonateEmpty hearts and mindsCondemning cetaceans No more the noble tumblesSquinting behind blue in blueSmiling enticinglyBreeding love OtotemanAnimals scent their territoryMen are more creative Stories can be toldOne way or anotherWrittenSpokenSungSpunCarved Hierarchical powerTripartiteTranscends and blendsEclipses society Carved around cedarLife’s foiblesStand proud, andStiff Like poemsMeaning is negotiatedAlong an indistinct trailPointing upwards and outwards PotlatchCulture clings to wooden sticksCeremoniously raised, crestingStamping status, claims and passingsFormalising shifting loyalties Speaking ill and goodOf the dead and the livingClaiming new privilegeDisplaying wooden feathers Feasting on salmon and berriesGifting bounty to seal and landRattles, furs, gems and dreamsMemorising life Klondike (WP&YR)There’s gold in them der hillsGold, I say, goldSays Shookum Jim and Dawson Charlie Dawson?Did Charlie still his nameOr give it? Ounces to be wonTons to be wrungUp slippery stairs Chikloot beckonsShorter, killing the backsOf grown men Men stampedingChasing the elkSeeking hard velvet Horses harnessedDie, climbing the passPassing to a white heaven Today, toy trainsFollow in the tracks MoietiesFive-eyed ravensScramble stealithlySquarking loudlyHashing the air AboveEagles soarLanguidlyLazily Worlds turn overLakes mirrorDraining upwardEbb and flow Long agoEagles and ravensStood toe to toeEye to eye White windsSpread death and destructionRavens lost wingEagles lost eyes Mothers emergedDeeding lifeLove from the landSeeding time Direwolves of HaidaStride longleggedlyAcross the SnowDeciphering as they go Story of the Tlingit of Icy Straight Point Share this: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Like Loading...
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