The years have passed, The days were long, The nights were dark. I shall not forget.
Lisez l’histoire de Jenna Gauchier
High Prairie, AB
Peavine Métis Settlement
Âge 17
My submission is a poem mainly about residential schools, kind of like a brief description on what had happened. It basically is the common thoughts among those who have endured a residential school. I know quite a few people, heard plenty of stories to have the basic idea. In this poem it starts out with them losing their hope, to wanting to run away but immediately wanting to give up but at last they hear the whispers of their ancestors encouraging them to move forward, to never give up. To live through those times you needed to be strong, to have hope that one day everything will be okay.
I could not imagine having to live through those schools but because of them I cannot understand the language my grandparents and/or elders tend to speak on occasion, I was not taught much about our culture, aside from what we are taught in school.
Hearing stories from various people who have gone through the residential school process taught me that you have to be strong, you need to have hope. Everything your ancestors did was so you could live a happy life, they do not want anyone to go an destroy that happiness.
The years have passed,
The days were long,
The nights were dark.
I shall not forget.
I sat there watching
Praying,
Pretending,
I was determined to run,
To find a new place
A place where I could speak my own language,
A place where I didn’t fear,
A place where I could once again be free.
They took away everything
Our language
Each day ticked by slowly
Our culture
Each torturing second
Our spirit
Gone
We were put into schools that devoured who we once were
Each day we began forgetting.
What was life before?
Were we happy?
All these questions we cannot seem to recall.
Another day has passed
Another memory faded
Another unforgettable one made
I wanted to run.
The fear of being caught consumed me,
The adrenaline moved me.
I ran.
Off into the distance I could hear the calls,
The threats
They wanted me back
They called me a savage.
Shall I continue?
The sun rose then disappeared.
Day into night
I hid in the trees
The calls were closing in on me
I could see the lights
The teacher’s angry steps
Before I could step out of place
I stopped
And I stared
I watched the moon rise
The twinkling stars
Both encouraging me
The million lights guiding me through the night
I heard the whispers
My ancestors