From Sacrifice to Solidarity: A Tribute to Ottawa
From Sacrifice to Solidarity: A Tribute to Ottawa
Today, let me tell you a dutiful tale,
Of sacrifice made, and of spirits prevail.
Since that fateful day in February’s chill,
When we stood our ground, on Parliament Hill.
A memory followed, through shadows of night,
A struggle so heavy, but we held hope tight.
Much more would be needed, to see this job through,
Dedication and purpose, it called out to you.
For those who lost loved ones, through death or divide,
For the jobs that were stolen, the dreams pushed aside.
For the homes that were broken, for freedoms we crave,
We fight for our future, for the bold and the brave.
Know this cannot be, cannot be in vain,
We must rise from the ashes, and endure through the pain.
In truth and purpose, our hearts firmly stand,
For the sacrifices made by dutiful hands.
With courage, we ventured to reclaim the day,
Strong groups now are forming, connected to stay.
Through battles we fought, we’ve seen victories won,
In courts and in councils, a change has begun.
The judge ruled the powers they used were unjust,
The Emergency Act that trampled our trust.
But now the truth stands, so bright and so clear,
The question is where do we take it from here?
Together we rise, through struggle and strife,
For the country we cherish, for the beauty of life.
We carry a flame, that will never die,
For the freedoms we fight for, for the hope of all time.
By: Maggie Hope Braun
A poet too!
Maggie your boundless talent seems endless, a gift only the Divine promises, A will inspired by trauma and imbued with intelligence and dedication and the promise life offers to each and every one of use, but far few nurture.
This poem brought me to tears Maggie, because it invoked the resident fallout that festers from those years and seems somehow fictitious now. So far removed from the experience I'm supposed to be having now, that I think it must have been a dream, I mean a nightmare. One I should wake and pray I do.
It seems to overshadow even the brightest moments that life’s’ attempts to present to me, in the form of the gifts of the day. They fail to break through the powerful but fleeting fear of its life sucking eternal shadow. Barely here, intangible but it is long and dark shadow, made worse by the fact that many seem to have no memory of the facts.
The struggle is real and your words reinforce that which I know was true but seems false today. For how does one move from there to the promise of here ? The mirage that this new presented reality that attempts to overshadow the dreaded ghost that inhabits the current moments attempts to distract and erase the unbelievable terror of that era
Let us never forget, but find within us the faith to integrate that period with the promise of today in spite of Bill C293 and its powerful attempt to prepare us for much worse.
Thank you for your work Maggie, Canada needs your vision even if we are being lulled into believing it is over.
A beautiful poem that I can relate to Its just what we need in South Africa