Editors note: this post has been updated. Check out the image below!
A collaborative “found” poem by students in Ottawa Adult High School Period 1 Grade 11U English: Understanding First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices class. The words were “found” in an article about an interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer for CBC Radio’s Tapestry. Wall Kimmerer is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Each student could not see the phrases or lines that went before what they chose to add: an “exquisite corpse” process.
Why is the world so beautiful?
Give more than you take
I would greet these flowers and say how beautiful they are
“Let’s be quiet for a while. Abundance, openness, water, will return.
We’ll wait this out.”
Be patient when resources are scarce. Let’s be quiet for a while -- mosses
Trees work to connect heaven with earth.
Be always thankful and grateful of what you have.
Bring your beauty to her in our house.
All living things on the planet make the world beautiful (flora and
fauna)
Alive, non-living things
Life is too short. Love each other and respect
the word “animacy”
I would greet those flowers and say how beautiful they are!
It’s not just land that is broken, but more importantly,
our relationship to land.
When there are limits, the mosses say, “Let’s be quiet for a while.
Abundance, openness, will return.
We’ll wait this out.”
Be patient when resources are scarce.
Authors:
Huria Muneer
Glenda Ferraris
Zahra Sultani
Michelle Ndlovu
Nadira Ahmadi
Randa Omar
Manzi Mujiji
Xueyong Li
Mursal Shams
Sadina Alavi
Ruqia Haidari
Alpha Mpano
Sabina Khatri
Hello Neighbouring Authors! We're glad you like how your poem looks.