asastîwa “they are in piles” Solomon Ratt (th-dialect)

 

ay-asastîwa kithâskiwin
ispî awasimî awâsisak
î-miskawihcik wâtihkânihk
oskaniwâwa î-asastîthiki.

ᐊᔭᓴᐢᑏᐘ ᑭᖭᐢᑭᐏᐣ
ᐃᐢᐲ ᐊᐘᓯᒦ ᐊᐚᓯᓴᐠ
ᐄ ᒥᐢᑲᐏᐦᒋᐠ ᐚᑎᐦᑳᓂᕽ
ᐅᐢᑲᓂᐚᐘ ᐄ ᐊᓴᐢᑏᖨᑭ᙮

Lies pile up
as more children
are found in graves
their bones in piles on top of each other.

Image: @timspikedavis
scatteredthoughtscartoons.com

2 Responses

  1. The poem has a double meaning for asastīwa. It describes the doublespeak given by government and church officials when inquiries were made about children. Never a straight answer, so therein, lies the double tragedy of the children who were dehumanized by the way they were buried by the people for whom many parents trusted.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Contact Us:

    Subscribe: