The Fresco Tells It All

A fresco in the cathedral in Mission,BC, Canada caused me to live emotionaly the painful history of another people, the first nations of Canada.

The Fresco Says It All!

 

From the mountain,

From the forest,

From the river,

From the wild,

We came.

Naked.

Not tamed

In their eyes.

 

Depicted by cathedral fresco

At Mission BC

Our faces are empty

In their eyes.

No clothes,

No nose,

No eyes,

No ears,

No mouth,

No expression,

No emotions.

No individuals.

We were the faceless

In their eyes

Before the Black Robes

Came.

 

In their eyes

Were we

Barren pewter plates?

Empty jugs?

In their eyes?

Blank paper to write on?

Creatures to domesticate?

To tame?

 

In their eyes

Were we cyphers

In a ledger

In their eyes?

Were we souls

In a cash register

For deposit in Rome?

 

In their eyes

Were we chum salmon?

Migrating up a spawning river

Heading home to die

In God?

 

As seen in their fresco

As seen by their eyes,

Out from the watery wilderness

The first of us converted,

Got a colourless face and shoulders.

The second to convert

Got copper coloured skin,

Got face, legs and arms,

And from Rome a number,

To mark a soul as saved.

Happiness in numbered blessings

Were tallied in a roster

At St Peters.

 

At first,

We resisted conversion

Until small pox struck our village.

An invasive species like the Europeans.

It brought fatigue, then death after

Rashes, lesions and pus-filled scabs.

As loved ones were perishing

In the fever of the plaque,

We were promised

Life after death

With our elders

In a beautiful heaven.

As seven out of ten

Of our people died

We were saved.

 

We were promised salvation

And residential schools

For our children.

 

We have survived it all

As a people.

But we are still living

with the scars

Not of small pox

But from our saving.

This was no miracle.

Reviews

[Tim]

Looks like you've done your homework for this incredible writing. You have tons of skill. I'm sure we could all look back at our ancestry and see the trials and hardships that were a part of their lives. Being able to persevere through the ages is a testament to character and courage, as well as wisdom. Precisely what you describe here. I stand and applaud you.