In Between

There is this feeling
Of flitting in between,
Neither here nor there
But on the threshold.

Beyond time,
A place for spirit,
Where bodies become frail,
Forgotten
Shades of grey.

Beyond decision,
Uncertainty and wonder
Bud together,
Dance in delicate footfalls.

Soon memories fade away.
Will
Becomes a fool's errand.

Stay here,
Whispers the air,
Beyond reach of despair.
Live this strange pleasure
Eat the food,
And stay forever.
Forget all
You left behind.

In this world of tricksters
Become blind.
Breakdown the crippling walls
Of sight.
See beyond your senses.

Qualified

Am I qualified
To tell you what to think
How to think?

Let me tell you now
That I stand before you
With confidence
And doubts
And experience in many things.

But I am as qualified
As the next guy,
Let me tell you
You will never feel 100% confident
But you would remain stagnant
If you didn't take a leap of faith
Cast yourself off the deep end
And free fall.

Some day you'll understand,
I promise.
But for now
Just remember
That I'm qualified,
And that I'll tell you what to think,
How to think,
But never
What to believe.

The Perfect Creole

You can tell me
That I am pale as a sheet,
Try to glare until my skin catches fire,
But you can't change history.

My ancestors were a mixture,
The perfect creole
That spans two continents,
Bridges gaps
Most wouldn't dare attempt.

We are mediators,
The go-betweens,
That once held this country together.
We are the glue
That connects two nations,
Interwoven
Among willing and unwilling participants,
In the rise and fall of civilizations,
The creation and destruction of ways of life.

We are unpopular,
Loved and hated by all
Without pause,
But still necessary.

You may not want to believe
In who I claim to be,
I could look like my European ancestors
Or Cree,
But I would still be
What I have always been,
A mixed-blood,
A Métis.

Mental Genocide

You're just a child

Trying to care for a child

And you aren't well

But neither were your parents

And this bridges 3 generations now

Maybe more

I never asked your whole story

You never told me

And I wonder

How many broken families

Are just like yours

It is so difficult to be a witness

To this mental genocide

I only hope the cycles will break down

But we spiral up through time

And it is never easy

To erase the sins of the past

You can turn to the bottle

Or something less productive

And yet the results play out

In your social DNA

What will that baby say?

When her thoughts begin to form

When teenage angst

Drives her away

The same way you left your home

Will she come back when she's 20

Scrub the walls of mold

As your sickness sets in

Drive you to the hospital and grieve

Leave

Before she tells you

She's going to have a baby

Surrender

I can't keep fighting back these waves

They're growing stronger

The water below is murky

What is down there?

I want to hold on to something to stay afloat

Yet I don't really want to get back on that boat

It was on fire when I leapt out

And now I'm afraid of drowning

I keep on struggling

When it makes no more sense

I should let go

Surrender myself to the undertow

It is fear that keeps me here

Maybe there is something better

Just below my feet

Maybe when I quit this struggle

I'll realize it's not deep

But right now I'll flounder round as though

I cannot take the pressure

I am afraid to surrender

It's not the water that scares me

It would be soothing

But I can't trust myself

I second-guess past decisions

Foolish thoughts I can't see past

And these waves look like mountains

But really they are in my mind

The water is as smooth as glass

I would realize

It is just a puddle

It barely even is to my knees

If I looked down I would catch my reflection

Showing who I am with accuracy

But first I need to surrender

I cannot even see beyond my nose

I need to surrender

Until I do this storm keeps raging

And I feel alone

Whispers on the Breeze

I have always
Listened to the wind
It speaks in whispers
Beckoning
I go where it calls
Echoes from the mountaintops
Gushes about streams
Washes over seas of flowers and grain
I follow its winding paths
Dance where it touches Earth
Fly amidst it
Carried on false wings
It bathes me
In tranquil excitement
Leaves me stranded
Where its furies boil
Dies and is reborn in one breath
I have always
Listened to the wind.

You Say

You tell me to relax
I allow myself
To melt into a puddle of tears
Emotions I didn't know I had
And you say
This is ESP
But I'm wondering
How I can be so unstable
And yet cry happy tears
I wonder how I let stress
Lead me this far
I feel vulnerable
And yet fear drifts
Somewhere far away
You read me
Like a book
Looked between the lines
Discovered the hidden plot
I can only hope
I proved to be
More than some trash novel
A story with a plot
That leaves you
Eager for more
You read the lines
As I write them
Watching as our stories
Intertwine
Composing words yourself