the church

upon visiting Ted Kniffen's page, and a remark on his poem http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Tedk1946/2035074/

They traded 

the images 

of her death

on the internet 

like kids 

trade memes

such a shame

history lost ...

but she was 

more than 

history 

to me.

I remember 

the creak 

of the wood,

the smell 

of yellowed hymnals

and sweet grass

melded ceremony --

a priest who

bridged the gap 

between

the ancestors

who are all 

part of me

those who 

were here,

and those 

who came

to conquer and rape

and assimilate ...

she oversaw 

baptisms, marriages, 

and pow wows.

she brought us

a special kind

of peace

before 

she burned

and back into

the soil 

of her people

she turned.

Author's Note

http://anishinabeknews.ca/2018/06/12/church-of-the-infant-jesus-burns-down-in-long-lake-58/

Reviews

[Relic]

Kids simply don't have the capacity to understand the gravity of situations until they're older. I remember when my local church I attended burned down. It was devastating. After it was rebuilt, I barely recognized it. But they did rebuild, and that's the important thing.

Great poem with great wording, Lyn.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[...]

At 15 century at Bohemia during Husit revolution. Was churches burned down like symbol of oppression of religion freedom. Everything comeback to you churches were burn and Husits was defeated . There is always more then one side and view. Like there is more then one people and religion . I am glad your religion experience is positive. Most people are not so lucky.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you for your thoughts

[Lydia Shutter]

Such a powerfully emotional write, Lyn. We remember those who built our foundation and when they are gone, we must tell their story. From generation to generation. This one really hit me. Lydi**

[Lyn Anderson]

I am honoured. Thank you

[Onlyme]

Wow. The symbol of religion and its presences. It has on us. The older all generations who visited them more often. Then the generation of today. To which it's simply just a building. And the priest. Just a person with no major significances. As religion is not the hot topic for youngsters. Just a flash photo on an iPad. As local news.

[Lyn Anderson]

Yes. It's sad. But it's the world in which we've come to live

[Onlyme]

Very true. Lyn.

[Pete]

that which we experience earliest is often the most powerfu and real staying with us. holds well and reads smoothly as it makes its point ... :)

reminds me of:

"It is true, these Roman Catholics, priests and all, impress me as a people who have fallen far behind the significance of their symbols. It is as if an ox had strayed into a church and were trying to bethink himself. Nevertheless, they are capable of reverence; but we Yankees are a people in whom this sentiment has nearly died out, and in this respect we cannot bethink ourselves even as oxen." - Thoreau

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. This one is special. There are great shames in history, but not all stories are without points of light. So now, when one wonders why there are many of Canada's Indigenous who are devoutly Catholic despite the wrongs that were done in the name of assimilation, not everyone had the same experience of the church

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

I somehow knew I felt a presence about you. I feel it here and there. This is a beautifully rounded piece.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you so much. This one is very special to me

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

I love the nature of pieces like this. It binds me to the realness of life, love, and friendships. They are kinda like whispery blessings if that makes sense.:)

[Lyn Anderson]

It makes perfect sense. It binds us to the real inside the abstract picture we have formed inside our mind while reading someone else's words

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Every person is a footnote in history to everyone but some special too many as well.
REALLY GREAT WRITING.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you so much

[redzone]

your poem is an honor to read Lyn... and in reading one of your replies below, I was struck how the fusion of traditional beliefs and Catholic church is special and how Christianity as a whole melted old beliefs into their ceremonies and rites... but native peoples in north America have lost way to much of their traditions to so called "civilization", especially here in the US.

[Lyn Anderson]

I think I am luckier than many. I grew up rooted in two cultures, accepting and loving them both. Historical wrongs were an abstract, banoc for Sunday dinner after mass was real

[charlie]

Your poem smokes with shades of grey though marks an indelible line in the minds eye. The subject matter isn't the easiest to bind together like you have, and it's commendable the way you've done it. You worked the poem's structure to great effect. (but line 14: might you mean "creak", instead?)

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review. I have been auto-corrected which I will fix post haste.

[Neville]

That is just the way it is these days... obtain and discard, it matters not whether we are talking ice cream wrappers or places of worship... a well crafted current affairs and culture shaming poem for sure..... Neville

[Lyn Anderson]

The indigenous of Canada have a very complicated relationship with the Catholic church. I come from a mixed background, and this particular church was home to a unique blending of native and Catholic ceremony in its latter years before its closing. The priest welcomed the use of traditional ceremony within the church, and it was beautiful

[Neville]

It does indeed sound beautiful...I spent some time with members of 'First Nation' when I was in Canada many moons ago... thank you for the additional background info..... N