 Poems
by Maricia Skinna
Here are a selection of poems written by Maricia
Skinna, originally from Mountain Village and now living in Klawock,
Alaska.
Note: This poem, written in 2001, was
published in the Sharing Our Pathways newsletter. It was also featured
on an AFN wellness poster along with pictures of me and my maternal
grandparents.
Asking Tomorrow
by Maricia (Skinna) Ahmasuk
The elderly, people of the past, bring
anew something in me.
Often tears of mixed feelings come forth
with the sight or even thought of these wise ones.
They possess
something mysterious and rare with their strength one cannot find
elsewhere.
Elders are steady, facing their daily
struggles— steady
like the rivers so swift!
The slightest movement of their hand
spark the imagination of what was, what is, what if...
Men and
women of old are humble as can be, yet their noble qualities
speak through their sparkling eyes with their chins held high.
Careless
worries and childish doubts dissipate almost instantaneously
around the elderly, as their actions portray volumes of what
actually counts us all as the beloved beings that we are.
Belonging
to the past that created them, the elderly have a way of looking
back without closing their eyes as they
are
somehow
taken away from the present, momentarily.
When these delicate
creatures are brought back Home we who are left behind are not
really left alone, for these
wondrous
beings
leave silently, yet not without an echo that rings true,
filling the abyss of the soul with great signs and wonders.
Elders
across the globe share a great commonality.
They take us to impossible
places as if looking into the future, directing our paths somewhere
to the past,
where
we each have
a place.
Often we hear Elders say that the youth
are the future . . . interesting, coming from ancient voices who
open the
doors
to
tomorrow by looking
back.
What may we ask of tomorrow...today? |
