I_am_Canadian.

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Picture this!


A picture poem, ...

"OH, ô... Canada,leaf, featherma chérie"

by Kenneth Selin (say'leen)



(Here ....

SHE ....

goes...

HANG ON to your bonnet,

my Dear.)


Early in the day,

I looked lovingly...

lightly...

over

yonder bay ...

picture of the morning

I see

this one-way sign

and take it to be

something

GOOD and TRUE. arrow

1-way sign

Where was it to lead me ...

but to my Cree canoe leaf.


"How do you do?" asked I of the canoe.


"Let's shove off and explore this land

that you and I love ...

SOooo... dearly ... too." arrow

image of a canoe

Aahhh,

but my mind did wander,

as it often does

-- in search of FREEDOM --

to that MAPLE leaf sailboat in autumn.


I can see it all ... now ...

as clear as BRIGHT day. arrow

image of sailboat

It was called the Santa Fe

and 

it brought me home every sailboat day

to my solitary cabin

down by the shorewhere

the fishermen and fish

come to play. arrow

image of Cabin

At night, the Sun went down

by the light house

in a spectacular way

in the stary

twinkle

of nightly display . arrow

 

image of sunset by lighthouse

... to await

the dawning Sun

and the Light of Day.


(Here... SHE ... comes ... )

image of sunset

"LeT TheGreatManitou

show you 

the way on the water

and SEE 

what this great land has to offer

and let it 

inspire you

with great joy

as you paddle true",

suggested my crusty Creeleafcanoe.

"When you paddle with me,

THE COURSE you will take

will be straight and true

like a good Cree leaf warrior

as thee."

I smiled and said:

"You flatter me, you do."

"Are YOUnot 

of the coureur de bois race?"

my canoe did asked.

"The Cree leaf and your race:

we are one,

But it is we, Cree,leafwho lead the Way." arrow

He said as a matter of fact ...

and then,

HE LAUGHED ... and laughed ...

and ... 

HOw he laughed.

Then

said HE with a grin:

"Get in ... 

Get in ... 

Be quick ...

Let's ... SHOVE OFF!

Someone or something

is surely WAITING FOR US


just around the bend ...

over yonder ...

don't languish ... "

hastened me my guide.

(So with a wry grin ... I got in.) arrow

image of misty forest day

I paddled ... my Cree craft leafQUIEtly ...

and ... quietly ... I paddled the waterbed

without any dread

with my heart pulSAting

to the ancestral drums of yore


rythmicly, 

pounding the strong dips of my paddle

into the water

and

to this beautiful waterway ...

I did come

bordered by flowerbeds ...

sweet grass ...

tAll young saplings ...

all

there to refresh me

I layed down my thoughts

of anguish and despair

of HOW the Cree leafdid fare.


Yet,

I felt sooo inspired ...

that my thoughts were filled

with uncontrolable glee

knowing that the Cree leaf

will claim their land ... 

in history. tree

The English and 

the French may have

tricked them,

cheated them,

wounded them,

but

the land leafis still theirs,

theirs to lay claim to,

theirs to cling to.


In the midst of all this,

I did hear

Jamaican music piping ... arrow

ChEER!

image of waterway bordered by flowers and trees

and A SONG,

a song ...

I did hear SING

down by ... Montego Bay. :-)




I even thought ... I heard

*>* Bob Marley *<*

ask ...

in his Caribean way ...

with a smile and a grin:-)

 

"Shall I sing hIGh?

Shall I sing loW?

Down ... by ...

Montego Bay?"

Carribean tourist resort pool

I dream ... of THAT DAY

some day soon

 

when ALL the world 

will be ONE

and at play ...

 

Oh,

what a GLORIOUS day

that will be ...

to laugh and splash

with friends faceface

 

what joy 

we shall see ...

 

down by the Bay by the Sea

that sunny, sunny day

some day soon!

 

Oh ya!

Oh, ...

happy ... 

happy ... day ...

"Oh, ô ... Canada,leaffeather

ma crie"

arrow

teepee

And so ends

the legend

of my crusty 

Cree canoe


that captures my love of

Canada