Review: Bellwalker

Canadian Poetry Association 2006 Poetry Competition

1st PLACE:

war musket grasses

Donna Allard

I see no soldier’s uniform as I walk along these shores

but I do see the red blood cliffs and musket grasses

and dry puzzle clay remnants but I have yet put all the

pieces together to see the whole picture

when the English and French bore arms for this Bay

a little known fact told me by a local a few weeks ago

he said to follow the water trails or streams

with one of those magnetic things and see what the

past will bring forward, he said many have found muskets

beneath the red clay graves

instead I prefer to walk, feel the clay between my toes

get my jeans red with the dye so I can at least feel some

connection with the soldiers who walked these trails

now cattle and a few horses roam here in the Fundy sun

safe and secure they keep a watchful eye on me

and I wonder if the stories were ever passed down to their

newborn, I can’t believe stories are for humans only,

if you look closely at domestic animals and wildlife

you can sense a presence, a feeling, that maybe their memories

passed down through the ages are holding the last unwritten entry

of lost lives along these grassy shores and red cliffs

well I must get back, the sun is setting and I fear the ghosts

may not like my curious nature as I walk through this

unmarked graveyard

Judges Comment: To me this was the outstanding submission to the contest. The highest compliment I can pay it is "Purdyesque"! I felt engaged in the poet's ramble among relics on a battlefield from Canada's past. The language is casual but poetic - the poet isn't "trying too hard" to impress - & ironically this makes their observations stronger & more believable. The casual self-deprecation of the short final stanza - "I fear the ghosts may not like my curious nature" - added a welcome humorous touch to this stroll on the old Canadian battlefield. EXCELLENT!