si lence rivers birds totems voice
travels by water by michael leeb
silent waves lap at the bow open water leads to a narrow waterway through sedges cattails billow in the wind another elusive glimpse of an otter while a swallowtail dances near the narrow
a paddle dips gently into shallow water the journey begins gliding along the waters surface memories of the past emerge shrouded in distant fog
1. do crows migrate?
3. a voice yells from the stern lean into it waves splash over the bow water fills the canoe i close my eyes the Old Man plays his tricks while we all enjoy a laugh
yeah…… but ravens don’t they look the same to me can’t tell them apart how many times has this question been asked? 2. two young boys wrestle with each other like two opposing thoughts bear cubs dressed in buffalo robes slapping each other in the face until they laugh memories are that way sometimes searching for the opposite groping for the elusive like a paddle in water shrouded in distant fog musing now with uncertainty uncertain of the destination sought an idea surfaces perhaps his totem is the bear? they walk that way…….. they’re double jointed that’s how they climb trees i like the way they walk perhaps his totem is the bear
i no longer hear that voice from the stern it has left like a merganser taking to flight the journey……… shrouded in distant fog
This poem and the illustrations form part of an art project entitled Canoe Journey that received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts through the Alberta Creative Development Initiative.
a paddle dips gently the journey…….. gliding along……searching the shore searching the past shrouded in distant fog
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