memorial at the vancouver art gallery honouring the 215 indigneous children whose remains were discovered at the kamloops indian residential school in bc (photography by ben nelms, courtesy of cbc)
this soil is drenched in blood
that runs across highways of tears
and scorched pavements
beneath the trenches of this land
hear the whimpers of an ailing mother earth
her children
their bodies discovered
by dragging knuckles
across unmarked mass graves
dousing gasoline on flames and traumas
that devour smoke
and entire nations
like a furnace
piercing shrieks
rumble partition walls
thundering,
between shriving pews
that hold pages of gospel
pressed between the blood-stained hands
of priests
and rosary beads
bear witness to the bones
and scattered ashes
the silence
there’s nothing your half-mast symbolisms will do
to reconcile the wreckage
you’ve unleashed on young spirits
i hear them calling
hushed whispers
asking to come home
if the root of oppression is the loss of memory
then is remembrance the threshold to justice?
an open door
towards a mosaic of truths
a balm for healing
a tender loving softness
against these hardened plastered walls
built on genocide and theft
oh, little ones
you deserve more than
empty apologies
and hollow promises
you deserve more than
candlelit vigils and teddy bears
you deserve to be seen
to have your names and stories released
from these secret shrines
to finally put to rest everything that has ever hurt you
you deserve justice
we will keep fighting
for you.
dedicated to residential school survivors and their families
lh
june 2021
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