Best Generations Poems

Denial is a can of peas
whose contents
should never be indulged
beyond the expiration date.
Yet there I stood, 
evidence screaming reality
at my eyes, their gaze steadfast
upon the wailing baby girl 
before me in her bassinet.
My mind then confidently knew
that what lay there
could have never come
from briefest self-indulgence.
Still,...

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On a stool she sat at Greatfather's
 feet,
 He feeding her ice cream as a
 birthday treat.

 Two years old sitting up straight,
 to catch each yummy spoonful, 
 Mouths open both of them.,
 as the ice cream goes in.

 Sun shining brightly in the...

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No one is smiling
as if the photo was taken years ago
when exposure was long
with movement held in abeyance
like dreams on the frontier
when great-great-gran was young
younger than the one she holds 
in the crook of an arm,
propped on the chair that confines her life
while the faces...

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a soft gentle touch
feels the warm pulse of guidance
of a calloused hand



__________________________________________
*note: this is a newborn touching his father's hand....

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We are but flesh and blood
  spawned from a putrid drop
our end to lie in the ground
  with the worm and maggot

Babes, dependent on mothers
  for nourishment and love
at the close of our days
  as helpless as newborns again

In the prime...

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This is a journey, a trip call it what you will
It follows the footsteps of my ancestors, and allows my thoughts too spill

Firstly let me take you back, to tell you so little of my past
Indigenous I am, from the "Stolen Generations" I did not...

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After a certain age 
A situation many never see
Is now directly infront of me
As I give words to comfort 
The same way that she had once done
She looks so frail and weak
But still smiles at me
And reaches for a kiss
So I lean over
As her hand...

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Hands
Small, large
Smooth, wrinkled
Arthritic, aged
Palms  

Written April 23, 2017...

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Federal and State agencies
For nearly one hundred years
Removal of children
Many families feared
 
Even Church Missions
Got in on the game
The taking of children
That they had no right to claim
 
Reasons were varied
To why this was done
As they knock on their doors
And a point of their guns
...

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Life is not about seeking fame & fortune
 life is beautiful in so many other ways
 life is family 5 generations strong
 sharing memories & stories from beyond
 passing truth & love from a special bond
 
 When you have family who stand strong
 who...

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The time has come to step aside.
It’s been a very lovely ride.
I trained my darling daughter well.
It’s she who rings the dinner bell
on holidays and lets me rest.
She aces each and every test.  

Proving herself every bit as able
as I to set Thanksgiving table,
she...

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Future Generations Pass   
          (Life of Martha and Gracie)

Martha started out, as a little girl, to understand her world
In an underworld, kept behind a wall forever, for her protection
The parents stuffed her in a...

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Great grandmother Rosa
Grandmother Maryrose
And Mother Roseann 
Daughter April Rose
Granddaughter Kayla Rose
Granddaughter Ella Rose 
Love all my Roses
//  ¦¦  \\
//   ¦¦   \\
//     ¦¦     \\
//       ¦¦ ...

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a first sip of miso soup
exotic and warm
forging a downward path
flowing like a life force
transporting me
as I close my eyes
to a timeless moment
sharing with countless kin
through the ages
young and old
some in the prime of life
some near their final breath
the sum of their days
deep in their...

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY

“We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.

We recognise the past atrocities...

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