Recon —
I can barely say the word. I don’t use it much anymore. So much needs to be done before we can contemplate it. So much truth, so much restoration of lands and people and communities. But today I came across this poem by Anishinaabe (Wasauksing First Nation) poet Rebeka Tabobondung who is the founder of MUSKRAT Magazine. She published this in 2013 and I will let her say it, because at some deep level this is what I am always working towards:
Reconciliation
We are waking up to our history
from a forced slumber
We are breathing it into our lungs
so it will be a part of us again
It will make us angry at first
because we will see how much you
stole from us
and for how long you watched us suffer
we will see how you see us
and how when we copied your ways
we killed our own.
We will cry and cry and cry
because we can never be the same again
But we will go home to cry
and we will see ourselves in this huge mess
and we will gently whisper the circle back
and it will be old and it will be new.
Then we will breathe our history back to you
you will feel how strong and alive it is
and you will feel yourself become a part of it
And it will shock you at first
because it is too big to see all at once
and you won’t want to believe it
you will see how you see us
and all the disaster in your ways
how much we lost.
And you will cry and cry and cry
because we can never be the same again
but we will cry with you
and we will see ourselves in this huge mess
and we will gently whisper the circle back
and it will be old and it will be new.
Thank you. I don’t have words to express the beauty of the poem you posted.
THank you Peggy
This is beautiful and speaks to me profoundly. When I had the opportunity to work within the Aboriginal community I quickly realized that the knowing that was held within the thoughts and actions of the people I supported was a deep and meaningful connection to the universe. I wanted (and still desperately want) for Canada to embrace Aboriginal ways of wisdom and being. For all Canadians, I believe that we have an opportunity to step into a paradigm of wholesomeness and connectedness to each other and the earth, if only we can step back and support the healing. This poem captures that desire. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Chris. These are unspeakable times. Each tragedy is piling onto to existing ones we did not have time to heal. 215. It is indescribable. And we know this not to be the only one. Many of us I n Minnesota being Ground Zero, continue the painful and wounding journey. Using hope as our tenuous salve. Be well. I cry too.
[…] post here from Chris Corrigan’s site. It’s a poem by (Wasauksing First Nation) poet Rebeka Tabobondung. It’s a poem that […]