Haskell Library
across fair-access borders
‘til government’s ban
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Built intentionally on the border between Derby Line, Vermont, and Stanstead, Quebec, this Victorian landmark stands as a monument to friendship between the United States and Canada. This library is a place where families, neighbors, and students have come together for generations to learn, read, and share a civic life rooted in trust, curiosity, and peace.
That legacy ended this week.
EveryLibrary
I had read a while before about this phenomenon, a community library that traversed borders between the nations. Now the Canadians have been told they may not use the library on the USA side.
And I suppose haiku aren’t for politicking.
photo by Shunya Koide on Unsplash
(and in the back, a person in attendance in the center)
maple rebellion
Canada
that won its nationhood
via
a “silent revolution”
has problems
too
with assets
as all nations know these for
ourselves
also such beauty
in
nature used
better preserved
with so many groups
first people
with
the rest
following by settlement
enormous
a gateway to so much
exploring
and
developing
with great strength
in hope
and might show a peaceful way
someday
to match the beginning
of itself
for itself and
a model
then for all
O for invocation
the spirit
in
first people
in all the provinces
all people
and so
we stand on guard for thee
Canada
its own
and
friend and ally
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on Canada Day
photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash
Too-Young Good-Bye
(youth, adults—the Humboldt team and friends)
In Canada
In Nipawin,
Youth and hockey
Care and safety
And something else transpires
Coaches and sponsors
Everyone does a job
And something else transpires
A bus and a truck tall and wide collide
And that’s it
There it is
An explosion perhaps not
In fiery effect
But of life regardless
And too terribly
I’ve been in vehicle crashes
So are many others
A truck crashed once into my car
I was sprayed with glass
And there was no question
The family station wagon would
Be replaced
People have been hurt in wrecks
This is what I know
Those who are close to this
Know so much more
And horrible
There are
Those who left
Pulled mortally from here,
The here and now we
Have
Those who remain
What shall be done
Too many must heal,
And we must return
To take each one gone
A gift
Of flesh and soul
And in quiet, be thankful he
Was with us
For a time—then
For each one still in sight,
Perception
All-gendered victims now
All ages then and since
All places
All relations
Thoughts and prayers are tired
Though we will inhale and
Pray for real, again
For faith however tried
And for answers that like deer
Are nimble and grace-filled
Look for authenticity
In choices of
Our love
Good-bye too soon
Each one
Not from eternal reach,
But the for hours we must count
‘Til heaven says all counting’s gone
Together
In a redemptive now
Always beginning
C L Couch
image above from Pinterest
image below from http://www.tripmondo.com/canada/saskatchewan/nipawin/
Favoring Neighborly Respect
(greetings with a sigh from USA)
We’re not all like Dwayne Wade
Canada is our neighbor, deserving
Of respect
And you are liked
There is enough to contend with
Fire, life of First Nations, economy,
And government—correlations in
USA
Antics courtesy of the NBA are
Neither needed nor liked nor
Incumbent here
We are friends—maybe we will
Match our amity in action, as
We do in many things
But, as with national songs, a
Kinship should be lifted,
Celebrated, and served, O
Canada:
The land of hope for all who toil,
The true North strong and free!
Thank you for forbearing,
From your friend
Canada’s First Family
Attawapiskat
First Nation
Northern Ontario
Where the compass
Points
They die there
At their own hand
Killing the present
The future and
Relation to the
Past
Rich culture made
Impoverished
Reservation life
Ten times more
The young men
Die, for women
Twenty-one times
A child of nine
An elder seventy-
One
A tear (a rush)
A tear (in tragic
Sadness) of
Counselors
Has been hurried
There, but where
Is the missing
Part of life
What will
Resolve the hole
Of promises
Where harsh
Unappealing life
Without prospect
Fifteen living in
A house for
Three or four
Community
Structure minimal
And faulty
A solution is re-
Connection to
Heritage
A renewed climb
To meet sibling
Spirits in the
Skies
Yet once on
Earth again how
Does renewed
Tradition survive
In mortal people
Pushed to the
Edge
Forced into
Living prepared
To push over
The government
Hears; maybe it
Sends the staff
But will it in
Fate complete
The rift of a
Spirit-people
Needing better
Earth to walk
Upon
Notes
U. S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High
by Sabrina Tavernise, 22 April 2016
WASHINGTON — Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s.
North American Union
(not NAFTA, more than)
So my friend Dennis
Who taught me how
To smoke a pipe (don’t
Worry; the pipe for
Years now serves only
As a decoration)
Well, Dennis once
Posited a plan—that
Canada and Mexico
Merge with USA
Dennis from Canada,
I the USA, while we
Lived and worked
Close by the San-Diego-
Tijuana border; we
Spoke of our
Now-new nation (and,
Admittedly, this is
Somewhat stereotypical
Thinking from thirty
Years ago), a country
Enjoined: vast resources
Of nature in the north
With great human ability,
From the south with ever-
New technologies from
The land between
So there, Dennis, shared
In time of friendship,
Knowing that all mortal
Things are finite and
So need care to last then
Maybe last again,
Shall we disassemble
Walls—add a writhing
Serpent into bald eagle’s
Claws, all set upon
Autumnal maple leaf—
This our new metaphor
To try?
Perhaps this is a time
To arrange triangles of
Tables, negotiating
Continents of possibility
clcouch123 
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