A Few Words About A Few Words

Your Loss

I wrote this poem after paddle boarding on Canoe Lake several years ago. I had just finished reading “Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him” by Roy MacGregor. This poem is about the loss of Tom’s paddle, and, moreover, it’s loss of Tom, under the mysterious circumstances that remain to this day. The paddle was searched for at the time of his death, but never recovered. 

Finding Peace

This is a very personal poem. It tells the sombre story of my experience while Spring kayaking along the flooded shoreline of the Ottawa River several years ago. As described in the poem, from the time I first entered the river that Spring I felt that a dark discovery awaited. What I discovered several weeks later was an individual whose unfortunate path lead him to lifelessness in the water on my path.

I See You

Written to a pine tree noticed while paddle boarding on Grand Lake in Algonquin Park. It captivated me as I was passing by and I wondered what it might think of me, what conversation we might have, had I the power to understand its voice. It would also have been present, possibly, in the backdrop of Tom Thomson’s famous Jack Pine painting – hence the reference.

Your Presence

Written to another magnificent tree with a connection to Tom Thomson. This large, beautiful birch tree continues to grow today inside tiny Mowat Cemetery, which is found at the back end of Canoe Lake. According to the findings of Roy MacGregor in Nothern Light, it is not far from this tree, in an unmarked grave, that Thomson’s remains still lie.

Moon Dance Over Water

Written to the moon about the experience of paddle boarding on Grand Lake in its presence, late at night, while most others are fast asleep.

Our Canvas

Written about the experience of an early morning paddle with my beautiful wife on Grand Lake.