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James and the North

Invisibly, the jet flew northward.
The vapor trail, white against the shocking blue sky,
appeared to James to be like a floating javelin;
and his thoughts, caught by it, traveled along.
North to Chicago, Minneapolis, and then Winnipeg.
To a farmhouse in winter on the
windblown Manitoba plain.
There, the willow windbreaks
caused the snow to be blown into
great drifts on the frozen dugouts.
The water far underground was cold,
and bitter from salts.
Since there was little rain in summer,
the water from the dugout was used to water the garden,
(and flush the toilets).
The drifts were the children’s,
made into castles and caves
where they and the dog could
hide from the cutting wind and watchful parental eye.
North then to The Pas,
where the beautiful blue waters of Clearwater Lake
lay frozen enough to bear the weigh of cars.
Beneath, the lake trout moved slowly, awaiting summer’s call.
Swampy Cree and Whites live in Relative harmony.
North then to Flin Flon,
where James decided never to travel
in winter after his jet landed in a cross wind,
in a snow storm, and ground blizzard,
crabbing, across stunted Black Spruce, Tamarack
and permafrost.
Where the river and falls flowed (in summer) with
a rich, clear, brown-red colour
from the Tamarack.
It was here, however, that raised the stardard
of fishing so high,
that James fished no more,
even for the delicious catfish from his own mud puddle lake,
always at hand.


North then to Churchill,
where,
in winter, you woke up and ate without the sun,
greeted it briefly, through a frosted glass window,
and then ate your supper, again, without the sun.
Missing were the polar bears,
the unbelievable, clouds of mosquitoes,
black fly, and gnats.
Missing also, were the red fleshed Char,
and Grayling,
and the riot of cotton grass and flowers.
Ah, but if you braved the cold and wind,
there were intense northern lights
and stars brighter(or a moon larger) than ever seen elsewhere!
The People, Whites and Chippewa
all lived here ,like James in Kentucky,
in senseless serenity.