Way Up North
A collection of streams
join the Moose River, flooding
across a muskeg wilderness
movement swirling
across Ontario’s northern frontier
surrounding the island-village
of Moose River Crossing, then to the
lowlands where coureur-de-bois
once sought the beaver
where Radisson stood
peering across James Bay, a
baby-pond outgrowth of the greater
Hudson.
© 2007-2009 Richard L. Provencher
All Rights Reserved
Comments
camilla | May 20, 2009 - 18:36
I used to spend time in the Adirondacks and had friends who lived in Canada. They travelled in those places where you have to say whether you want rescue if you go missing. they did in fact lose their dog in an accident with a canoe. The man survived the dog did not. This is evocative of place. I do not know what coureur des bois is. Nor is there an obvious emotional point to this but it does evoke place, space, and the exploration of wilderness.
Richard L. Prov... | May 21, 2009 - 02:15
Hello Camilla, You do quite a bit of writing too. "Coureur des Bois" means runner in the woods, in French, since they were fur traders. They were hardy outdoorsmen in the wilderness country, seeking furs to return to Montreal with. UP NORTH, a regular expression to denote the upper reach of Canada's large territory. North of Cochrane, Ontario is Moosonee, 186 miles away "up north" on James Bay, and the territory is flat with muskeg, but covering vast mineral resources, yet untouched. The poem is about space and I thank you for your kind comments. Richard LP