Verses

It was Told

In the time before people

the whole world was covered by water

and still before our time,

when it was neither night or day.

Supernaturals occupied the first rock

that had risen from the sea.

Our ancestors came later

They said Kaalga Jaad (Ice Woman)

hovered in front of a glacier by Deena River

our people lived and hunted in a treeless landscape

between here and the mainland

Our relatives recount the first tree

and floods and tidal waves in their time and before

It was because Raven fooled around with his uncle’s wife

that Gahllns Kun (his uncle) spun his hat and caused the water to rise

accounting for one of the floods

In another event, they were saved

by the sgils on Qingi’s hat

in another, the ones who had dogs on their rafts

were not tipped over by the bears

in another, they found salvation

in the mountains of Duu Guusd

in every instance there were lessons learned

We still carry a song of the grizzly bear

that came down on the people of Haida Gwaii

even though grizzly bears weren’t suppose to exist here

we got a story of a young hero

who slays a mountain lion near Copper Bay

which also wasn’t suppose to be here

not only we…

The Tibetans also knew about the time of twilight,

the old testament also mentions

As the raven clans come from Sgulu Jaad (Seafoam Woman),

the Egyptians and great Incan Empire

knew of a “god” called “Seafoam” in their own languages

The Hopi tell us about their people coming out of the earth

… indeed it was Nangkilslaas who stomped his feet

to call the different tribes from the earth

This was all myth, of course, comparable to fairytales

…at least until lately

as science takes a closer look at the days gone by

they debated on whether or not

these islands were entirely covered by ice during the last ice age

They have now concluded that

there was an ice-free and inhabitable refuge

now beneath the Hecate Strait

as our people said

and while we were clear of the continental ice field,

there were indeed local glaciers

for Kalga Jaad to hover in front of

They know our people were here before cedar

Now they even know the order of the arrival of plants

as generations of our people would have witnessed.

In the mountains of Daaw Guusda they found

the bones of one of the biggest grizzly bear ever

in fact several animals that weren’t suppose to be here

Science has learned that the ice age came to an end

much more abruptly than previously thought

We can now look beneath the waters at the sea floor

and realize the havoc unleashed upon our people

by the great melt waters

then as the great tundra was reclaimed by the sea.

Scientists now believe that when a meteorite struck the earth

it not only caused a cataclysmic event on earth

but also sent water and debris into orbit

creating a frosty dirty mantle

refracting light around the globe

that kept the earth from realizing night or day

Scientific theory is not very convincing however

when they try to explain why

there are seashells and marine fossils

even in the great Himalaya and Andes Mountains

and while there is now a growing convergence

between science and our histories

they may have to take our word on certain facts …

as they wonder

how the sun and the moon got up there

and while they may have theories,

they will come back to us

because it was told…

BEAST

Cattle-Skulls

What of the Beast

that has no head

no face

no heart within

 

the motherless Beast

though born of man

regards him …not

 

That wily Beast

It revels in our selfish desires

while guiding its makers

to their own demise

 

Syria-bombingit has no guilt

as it spoils the earth

and no concern

for the sentient being

 

the powerful Beast

it rules the rulers

and rids itself

of those in its way

 

the repulsive Beast

It needs no rest

and knows not satisfaction

 

Beast-1The elect go eagerly to its tables

to do its biddings

and reap its rewards

…or be expelled for another

 

to the Beast we say

…Enough

you loathsome error

you bring no peace

you bring no love

…be off with you

 

it is time

for living

…the kids must play