Real Talk!

Lately I've been reading and thinking, perhaps more than usual, perhaps not. I've been watching documentaries, reviewing global political/economic events and listening to arguments about the general state of affairs of our planet.

I believe we have some really serious issues affecting the planet and no matter how hard we human beings try- we can't replicate Mother Earth. We need to stop depleting the rain forests. We need to stop pouring chemicals into our soil and into our air and into our bodies. We need to stop killing each other.

We are all members of the world community... and as November 11th quickly approaches (the day for Canadians to pause in memory of those who gave of their lives in defending our country while at war), I have been thinking that it is time to re-establish our membership in one family, one community, one cause and to respect the cost in terms of life on this planet and re-define what we need to be protecting.

We need to pro-active. We need to implement change... real change... I don't want to spew again about Tesla, but let's not forget that we are killing hundreds and hundreds of people and polluting our planet over fossil fuel and there are real alternative sources of energy! And... I'm not sure I mean crop fuels... we need to reserve our use of the soil to grow food. We have starving people on the planet. This should stop,too.

I was told that the computer era would reduce our use of paper... and save trees. HUMBUG. We are still cutting our trees at an alarming rate. What about bamboo, hemp or other options- these are quickly growing, easily replenishable resources that can be made into paper...

We need to put an end to homelessness... put an end to torture... put an end to as much of the suffering as is humanly possible... we need to be responsible...

I am putting as much positive energy as I can muster into saving the earth and all of its inhabitants. I vote for love. That's it, make love not war....

Having said all of that... and still, knowing it is insufficient to describe my feelings (words have not been invented that encompass the stirrings in my soul)... I have decided to share some poetry, written by my daughter, Catherine.

The first, she wrote for a school project in 2004 (she was 12 years of age)

For the Unknown Soldier
by Katie Stewart

I don't know your name,
But you are the poppy I pin to my heart,
And with it, my deepest feelings do start.
With courage and strength
You were called away,
So I could live life to the fullest each day.

Facing hardness and danger,
Hunger and cold
You gave your young life,
So I could grow old.
You left behind families
Who gave up their best
In dugouts and trenches,
our futures did rest.

What was it like for you, so far from home?
Where artillery shells blasted
And grenades were thrown?
And you crouched beside
Your comrades who bled
And I now wear poppies
The same colour red.

You don't know my name, but I am
The medal you pinned near your heart.
We have grown up, in worlds so far apart,
But at night we look
at the same star-filled sky,
Saying prayers into heaven
where angels do fly.

Where a star shines for every one
hurt by a war.
And the bravest of soldiers
will suffer no more.
God bless their souls,
May they rest now in peace,
For our promise to remember
will never cease.

***
and this poem, written in 2005 (also as a school assignment, when she was 13 years old)

At the Cenotaph
by Katie Stewart

A bugle sounds the saddest notes
Its familiar wail called "The Last Post".
My heart is heavy, I have reddened eyes
As I think of those who gave their lives.

A tear runs down my chilly cheek.
The silence deafens, I cannot speak.
I think of nurses and soldiers who cried,
Their comrades, children, shipmates who died.

And here we gather to honour and remember
In the 11th hour, on the 11th of November.
The ordinary people, like you and I
Called far from home, they said goodbye.

Some gave their lives, some returned.
Some were injured and some were burned.
They protected our country with dignity
Defending the true north, strong and free.

The veterans' eyes are soft and misted.
They have seen the horror that existed.
Here I stand, in this monumental place
I can hardly imagine the hardships they faced.

They lived through nightmares, so I could have dreams.
They gave me the sunrise, the forest and streams.
And even though we've never met
These are the people I will never forget.

***