(River people otter {Metis Mischief} Michif
(Owls, Winterfest!)
Aborn amidst, (yet) another War,
On the banks of the
Mihkmaw, Roozh, Rouge!
"Red"?
Flowing North, ( Arctic 'Shed,
(Prairie+Shield) to The Bay,
From this Valley,
(Don't hasten, Darlin',
(To bid us adieu!)
Amongst settlements+entitlements,
That, wha'-tah-hoot-mon, pipi-wipi-nipi-sipi,
Came to be, pres-quah, Les
(K'nif+)
"Forks"?
Ou, ditz dez Hiboos, qui creusez,
Comme laz' mores/modes/moods du temps,
(Plenty fish Ago, Rawh!
(P.Pipe/ PowWow Place!
(Grand Gruau,
(A la Carte des boeufs, Blanche,
(Potage des Pois, Portage,
(Herbes Partout!
(Richard's sons' Reach,
(Grand Trunk Funk,
(Blu-ski-bella Babooshkas,
(Ceilidh Centre,
(Baldar's Gimlit,
(Rendezvous Douces,
(Chez nous, on Natives' Land,
(Riel Estate!
(Festivale File Gumbo,
(Fais Dodo, 'vec Zydeco,
(Boif Rhum-ah-Hon-nah!
(Fancy Fiddlin', t'amata Sameday,
(Manga Brocha!
(La-la-lay-la, haya,
(Erin, go Bragh, (less)
(Nipiwinni sipiwa, (perky)
(Pemmican (jerky)
(Skinny (dipzy)
(Hiya haya (allright!)
(Winni-staya!:)
Naming game, same again,
Gaming names, plainly gains,
Ehya.
Of the Assiniboine?
(viz. Viz-compt Gort,
(Later VC, 'otel, 'ostil-ah-bang'em,
(Oopsy, [comma cheni] pas nariyanl,
('Oz-pitalites, tous-jou's, tra' dang-err-mooses,
(Gran' Pont, maintenant, tant piz.)
Some petty, (paz autres) big Cricks, etc,
En Seine,
Fais dough dough, ble heya,
For some, (of us) beginners,
Was a place of wonder, to start,
Le zew, la zoray, la boush ekwa ta tet.
So the taste, touch+feel, scent,
Sound, look, Ghost(s)+Spirit,
Siren Call, of the River, was with us,
Late+soon, then+now.
Always current, w/ancient reves,
Ever there, doux et bas,
Sous, Sioux, Prairie Airs.
Visions du vente, avec les freres Tomson, +
Las Reines de la Neiges,
Avant, les wayes en haut,
Mo'-betta-can-noodlh ici!
Soon Far-mo-loo-parlays,
Hebert's chansons a la Binks!
"W.O." was us, aussi Gabrielle,
Bon heureusement.
Proximate, (putative) roots?
Two dour, Scots G.P.'s, ex-Edin burrowers,
One, demi-Parisien Leprechan, +
Nana, from upstream,
Metis, Minnedosa (wawatay) way.
For a first gran' kosisan,
Nohkum, sure had Her ways,
Called us birds! Cahcahkayoos!
3rd Grade, Windsor Pub. when,
1st Flood! Wow!
Burlap bales, stronger spoored, than those
Brown (souvenier's of serv-ice/-ival) blankets,
Vet (wet) Dads (still) venerated, in old luggage,
Gunny Sacks, w/ coded, overlapping stencils,
Addressed to many, lively Theatres,
DNT movies, etranger than fiction.
Improbably huge, banks of sand,
In drive-ways, (jeep duks!)
By hand, 'til we dropped exhausted, ate
Napped+ ate, (ne plus ultra) sandywiches,
Gulped, gullets, cropz, Cahcahkayoos!
Nanabush wiininwa, (Nana-mannah )
Do it again, over+over, forever,
Sheltering in StockYards,
'Til, a Neighbour's pump shorted,
Drowned, the dikes broke, +
We, (children+women) left, our homes,
Full of the River's wawatay.
It was some messy, when we came back,
Looked around, under a June Moon '50.
Took ah-lots-ah-work, to fix-up small victorys.
That was quite a Christmas+New Years,
Serious, serial soirees, good cheer,
Some gentle rest, moonlit skating,
Mostly, merry-men, rye-bye-snooz.
The Crescent, alight for The Season,
All along the Row, buses full,
Of amazed delight. We waved back,
Frosty clean, squeaky snow.
This "Winter," if you see Aurora,
Danc-aya+Nakamouw,
Wawpouw+Payhtam,
Arret eh, ferm ta bec, fais ta zoray,
G'listen-hear-ya-eh....
Kiwitinohk Ice,
Canadling, Tinkling, Trickling!
All the (live-long) day, +some nights!
November, remember,
"Drip, drip, drip.... "
"All Aboard/Ashore, what's goin'" eh?
Mahki-tawa-kew wapush, tananahehta kwayes kici!
(Some rabbits, w/ big (h)ears, 'ear swell,
(Petites choses.)
Tanci keta?
(Eh, Whut'zz-up, Doc?)
Tano-we to-tsimile?
(Tous-a-da-loo?)
"Sous" beaucoup des ponts en flimsy,
"L'on y dance, l'on y dance..tous en rond."
"Somewhere norda S. Dakota, lived a young'un,
"On roche raccoo-oo-n!"
Aux autres choses, aux sis' rivieres, a bientot.
