Spirituality

What Were Their Dreams?

Posted on by stephen t berg / 0 Comment

Sky Dancer said,

These small poems are an approaching thunder that make me lonely and anxious. They break my heart, make it weep. Yet they mend me.

I’m not sure if there is a greater tribute that could be paid to Wendy Morton’s new book of poems.

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What Were Their Dreams? is a collection of poems layered over old photos. These story-pixels come together to produce a mural that at once pierces mind and soul, and clears hope for new redemptive dreams.

The book is an act of freedom. Should we listen with the ear of our hearts, it picks the lock from inside our own prison—that rotten legacy of Christian residential schools and the pain that is still evident among survivors and children of survivors. That legacy is not ours to "fix." Only to try to understand, and only then act, and that, in compassion. This book is the free and therefore true act of a poet who has trained herself in reflective understanding. She peels off old skin, the scrub of neglect and false memory, mirroring a deep respect for the people.

(Wendy’s “mural” comes from Port Alberni BC. I feel a local connection to some of these poems as Port Alberni was the first "working" stop for a few wide-eyed noobs from the prairies. Still, I was not such a nebbish as to fail to kneel in Alberni’s Cathedral Grove. For perspective, when I got there in 1973 the residential schools had only been closed for two years.)

Wendy Morton lives in a house overlooking the Strait of Jaun de Fuca where she watches hummingbirds and Killer whales and cares for flowers.

Politics/Violence

Can Obama resist the Pentagon?

Posted on by stephen t berg / 7 Comments

Consider:

More than 1,000 Afghans civilians have been killed so far this year, 24 per cent more than in 2008 and 50 per cent more than 2007. Although the Taliban cause the majority of civilian casualties, air strikes still kill hundreds and occasion far more outrage and attention.

Meanwhile, 289 foreign soldiers – including 21 Canadians – have been killed to date in 2009. Casualties are up 50 per cent over last year and roughly five times the levels in 2004. No one keeps track of Taliban deaths, but the number is believed to be in the thousands.

Hundreds of Afghan government soldiers and police have also been killed so far this year as the vast influx of U.S. troops have turned all of southern Afghanistan into a battleground.

And now, because the war is going so badly there’s a call for at least another 20,000 soldiers. This after the “surge” that sent 35,000 American soldiers to put down the internecine conflict that apparently would have spun the country into civil war. There were many who saw this as a beginning to even greater escalation. With the additional troops the West will have as many troops in Afghanistan as the Soviets did at the height of their conflict. A few years ago people who compared this war to Vietnam were dismissed as alarmist. No more.

So now the question is whether or not Obama can stand up to the Pentagon. Because, always, the Pentagon’s solution is bigger guns wielded my more soldiers. And if no other solution is found you can bet, if the Harper government is still in power, the deadline of withdrawing Canadian troops in 2011 will be extended.

Spirituality

A Final Whimsy

Posted on by stephen t berg / 1 Comment

Here’s a funny, sad, dramatic little play that you should take in if you’re still Fringing. David Belke, who keeps churning out gems, wrote this one for the venue—the beautiful old Gothic-like Holy Trinity Anglican church. But he also wrote it with the amazing singing voice of Andrea House in mind.

A Final Whimsy, with actors Andrea House, Nancy McAlear and Sandra Nicholls, is a sweet way to spend an evening. But be prepared to choke-up at the end.

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