I wrote this in the summer.
I climbed Mt Finlayson on Vancouver Island every day for two weeks...
I watched as forest fyres burned below me...

Salish Mountain

i alone in
forest deep and green,
wonder why i am here
silent standing
in this strange glade
far from home,
my careful step,
engulfed in smells
assailing upon my
nost.
this trail carved
from salish
tears
raped by blue eyed
strangers.
this mount
this prize of whiteman greed.
i stand aloft and read
the reason for the naming
of finlayson.
nine tymes upon this high
top
i’ve stood this fortnight past
offering my solitude
to sun parched
stones who never
answer.
they ignore my rosary.
the screech of raptor
my halleluiah...

red woman
red man
red cedar blood
red salmon flesh
red tides
red sunsets
red berries of the forest
red maple flag
red the rage and
red the coats
of the whitemans law......

Graham......2003