As a child, and as an adult, I loved looking through the treasures Dad had brought home from his time in the Arctic. Because I realized many of these treasures should belong to our country, rather than having them sit in our living rooms, I donated them to the Maritime Museum. Here is a poem I have written about these "found" objects.
Carvings of Another Time
A box of ivory artifacts,
What wondrous tales they tell,
Of days long gone, when survival,
Was doing what one did well.
They tell of days out on the seas,
Harpooning whales and seals,
Sharing with the villages
So all would have good meals.
What stories each piece of ivory tells,
On the tusks - from where it came,
Of the man who carved it lovingly
Out of pride, not gain.
The spirits in which the man believed,
Guided his careful hands.
The images he carved upon the tusk
Represent his land.
Those days are gone, no more to find,
Once we invaded the land,
North of our huge cities
In a place that once was grand.
Now, all that's left of the peaceful life
Are carvings such as these,
Stories passed onto the youth
And precious memories.
Dad lived with the Inuit people in places such as Wellington Bay, Cambridge Bay and out on the trail, building igloos to survive the fierce winds and blowing snow.
Marilyn
