owl tree whimsy

we all were roses

8/24/2020

green leaves trembling in the wind, flashing
pink, yellow, and thorns, smiling
at how resilient
we had become, roots entwined
with the fate of those rocks, our lumps
of enduring granite, we knew
we belonged there, flashing
pink, yellow, and thorns, smiling
with sea spraying and sun
sparkling in our eyes, on our shells
and green leaves trembling in the wind, we
all were roses

ol' star

6/14/2020

a look at some of the injustices within the United States of America,
a country that is no stranger to deep-rooted, systemic issues, including racism.

to the tune of “All Star” by Smash Mouth.

somebody once told me: “America’s so awesome!
without all our wars we’d have no peace.”
on dollar bills and TV, made sure we knew by grade three:
“you’ll be saved by the Pledge of Allegiance!”

well, the wars start coming and they don’t stop coming.
“fed up with kings, made Loyalists go running.
didn’t make sense not to live for us;
Creator of freedom is with ye!
red, White, and blue, true destiny!
ignore the protests and suffering,
the Trail of Tears, all those enslaved,
feed the melting pot and its flame.”

Canada is no stranger to deep-rooted, systemic racism.

6/3/2020

When asked about the protests currently happening in the United States,
Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded with the following:

There’s no doubt they have their issues in the U.S.,
and they have to fix their issues,
but thank God that we’re different than the United States
and we don’t have the systemic, deep roots they have had for years.

- Ontario Premier Doug Ford, June 2, 2020.

People in the United States are protesting the systemic racism deeply rooted in the country,
including one of the recent murders at the hands of police;
on May 25th in Minneapolis, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man,
was murdered by a White police officer.
The officer kneeled on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds,
even after Floyd was no longer responsive.
Floyd's pleas, including "I can't breathe", were disregarded.
Three other police officers were present as the murder occurred.

People in Canada and around the world have also been protesting,
out of solidarity, and in response to the situation in their own countries.

Premier Ford's statement above is very wrong -
Canada is no stranger to deep-rooted, systemic racism.

Here are a few examples -

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