CANADIAN SHIELD

07 19 13

Quintessential pestle of nature
and slave to the spite
of its stone puppet hands
A volcano fashioned in their own image
obscured by their evolutionary grudge
A Precambrian craft not allowed to budge
only bleed

Icy fashion from an Arctic adolescence
shredded by adulterated histories
into tasseled arteries
of teal and metallic turquoise

A frost diamond network
of obsidian avenues shriveled
into ant farm novelty
Down came the fist of geology
from bored nature
on hospitable potential

Compromise immigrated down
to the reaches of an heir-splitting river

Funneled disembodiment
honoured by a pair of
superpower-wannabe provinces
with a perpetuity of tug-of-war played
tongue-tied in Babelized rhetoric

Author's Note

Canadian Shield: The extensive region making up much of northern and central Canada underlain by Precambrian rocks that have been eroded to produce a low shield-like profile. - Dictionary.com

St.Lawrence River: "...connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It traverses the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario...." - Wiki Answers

Quebec and Ontario: the two most-populated and politically-influential provinces in the country...the former is predominantly French, the latter is predominantly English...you get the idea.

Reviews

[KAOlmsted]

"...heir-splitting..." Why are you so clever? All I really know about Canada is what I learned from a Loverboy album ;-) (oh s**t, not THIS again xD) Seriously, though...I know that northern bit of Canada is a lot like Alaska so I get that aspect of the piece...the political mishigas going on with Quebec (those b******s *laugh*) and Ontario is a bit above my pay grade. I used to summer on the St. Lawrence (1,000 Islands) Holy cats that sounds pretentious...

I am about to start gushing so I'll hit submit before Frieda scolds us ;-) I know you know how I feel about your work. And this is no exception. Incredibly well done, pet. xoxoxoxo

[kublakhan27]

Haha You wanna know something funny? I've been spinning their stuff on a regular basis since that last discussion we had...I have all of the albums, I'm not sure if I mentioned THAT ;D

I spent four months working in the Territories many moons ago, and I really wanted to take the bus over to Alaska, but I just never got the chance...summering on the St.Lawrence actually has a nice ring to it haha But yes, I don't wanna get Mrs.R upset with me ;) You need not say another word my dear, I'm just happy to have you stop by, and I'm happy that I'm able to entertain you with my words...thank you Kim for everything :) xoxoxox

[KAOlmsted]

Ah, Loverboy xoxo That is awesome. I youtube them every now and then and wonder...why in the HELL was I so in love with Mike Reno??? xD

My pleasure. For everything. And I know you know I know ;-)

[kublakhan27]

LOL And you don't think he was swooned over in his home country? ;D

Love and hugs as always :) xoxo

[KAOlmsted]

xoxoxoxoxoxo

[Riding the Rainbow]

LOved it;))) Hope to move to Canada soon for work;)))

[kublakhan27]

Thanks very much :) it's a fun place to be ;)

[Pryde Foltz]

The shield is strong but vulnerable all the same.

[kublakhan27]

Very true...nothing is impervious to time, and that was one of the messages I was hoping to get across.

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAutho..]

Khan, I consider this one of your most coherent constructions to date. The reader's notes, while adequate, do not provide insight into the inspiration and that is a void that stands in stark contrast to this pleasing edifice. Rather like a weed-strewn lot with plots for tenting standing beside a well-kept Victorian B&B. However, it does little to detract from the ingenious counterpoint of historical insight and personal commentary on these complimentary societies so compelled by their origins that they may appear to some as a form of root-bound potted plant. I encourage you, whole wholeheartedly, to pursue similar journeys with such vision and alacrity.

[kublakhan27]

Glad you enjoyed it my friend...I didn't want to weigh the thing down with too much historical context cuz that would have taken away from the spirit of the poem itself...I wanted to leave little holes in it for a reader to fall into and get a grasp on the slow but steady unfolding of nature and how it imposes itself on history....I would certainly like to do more things like this in the future to compliment my obsession with the weather, something I used to write about frequently but dropped in the pecking order of ideas I want to get out...my thanks again :)

[Abdul Batin Osman Bey]

great words and imagery vivid

[kublakhan27]

Thank you my friend.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

So happy to see new works from you...I just love your poetic voice. This was great in terms of imagery, and the concept of the Canadian Sheild was an interesting one to explore. The world is an amazing place, filled to the brim with exciting, unimaginable things that just boggle the mind. It is a wonder that we, as humans, are even able to walk on the surface of such an extraordinary plane. Well written...completley enjoyed this one.

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much Sarah...I've said it before, but to get props from a poet of your caliber is humbling beyond words :) I've actually had the concept in mind for quite a while but I just never got around to it, and once I did, it took me about a week to put together cuz I couldn't just revise the poem itself, I had to revise the history in it...Like the U.S., we have a wealth of various climates and landscapes, only ours are a little colder haha Sometimes it's nice to just drop everything and take it all in.

[Angi]

Steve, what a cool piece! The way you described the rocks and the river (heir~splitting!!) and the people in poetry was awesome. Very descriptive. I liked the frosted colors and diamonds woven here. Nice, man! Angi~

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much Angi...it's funny that we both seemed to be writing historical pieces at the same time ;)

[Rita L. Sev]

This is a fascinating piece - you wove this history with great imagery.

Compromise immigrated down
to the reaches of an heir-splitting river

Good metaphor here

superpower-wannabe provinces
with a perpetuity of tug-of-war played
tongue-tied in Babelized rhetoric

Love these last lines - "Babelized rhetoric" - well put!

[kublakhan27]

Thank you Rita, so glad you enjoyed it...it took me a couple of days to make sure I had all the facts right :)

[Luke L]

Great dedication to the Shield! Describes it very well :)

[kublakhan27]

Thank you Luke, really glad that you liked this one :)

[Luke L]

no worries man, great piece. Even though I'm not much into patriotism, I am drawn to things Canadian

[kublakhan27]

Yeah a lot of my friends on here have written about their home countries so I decided to make a contribution haha