Eternal: new poem by Pat Connors

Eternal

“…and grace will lead me home.”
Amazing Grace, John Newton

 

Under grey November skies
which winter follows close behind

the leader of the free world
will not admit he lost the election

the premier of Ontario sacrifices
our health to feed the machine

and a 12-year-old boy out with his mother
is shot dead in gangster crossfire.

For the love of God, which we can’t earn
we must resist the powers of darkness

until the end of their unfolding
becomes the beginning of true light.

In a world where a beautiful boy
paid for sins he didn’t commit

let us hold him close in our hearts
and leave the rest to the Lord.

 

Pat Connors’ first chapbook, Scarborough Songs, was published by Lyricalmyrical Press in 2013. His first full manuscript, The Other Life, is about to be released by Mosaic Press. He mentions several Ephesians passages as having influenced “Eternal” (1:7, 2:2, 4:18, 5:2, and 5:8).

 

first published in Poems for Ephesians poetry journal 

presented by D. S. Martin, McMaster Divinity College poet-in-residence

 

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Patrick, thanks for sharing your new poem. Strong! Powerful! I like the simplicity of the two line stanzas.

Congrats on seeing your full length mss through to publication with Mosaic  :  )  I believe you are an important Canuck poet, one of the few true standard bearers of the People's Poetry tradition, in the spirit of Acorn, Souster, and Plantos. 

- Chris

email opposing Ford government's bad proposed changes to Conservation Authorities Act

 Dear Daryl Kramp MPP,

Dear Minister Phillips,

cc: Minister Clark, Minister Yakabuski and Minister Yurek  

I strongly oppose the proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act set out in Schedule 6 of Bill 229 that curtail the role of Conservation Authorities in watershed planning and management. I am also deeply concerned that these proposed changes were brought forward in a budget bill, thereby over-riding my right to comment under the Environmental Bill of Rights. I request that you remove Schedule 6 in its entirety from Bill 229.

Ontario’s Conservation Authorities are a unique and widely respected innovation. They provide a much-valued bridge across municipal boundaries to understand and address environmental concerns, such as flooding. Because they operate at the watershed level, they are ideally positioned to encourage science-based collaborative strategies and decision-making. Their vital role in land use planning and permitting must be retained to ensure that development does not put communities at risk from flooding and other climate change impacts through loss of wetlands, woodlands and farmland.

The changes proposed in Schedule 6 will reduce or constrain the mandate of Conservation Authorities, and are therefore contradictory to the interests of the people of Ontario who are facing enormous risks and costs as a result of climate change and ongoing biodiversity loss. The roles and responsibilities of Conservation Authorities are critical in protecting the lands, waters and wildlife which benefit businesses and communities across Ontario, and upon which our health and well-being ultimately depend.

I urge you to remove Schedule 6 in its entirety from Bill 229.

Yours sincerely,
Chris Faiers
Marmora, Ontario, K0K 2M0, Canada

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Conservation authorities under attack from Ford government (as well as ATVers)

 
Dear Chris,

You might never have heard of a conservation authority.

That’s OK.

They quietly keep us safe by regulating development in wetlands - where 95% of Ontarians live.

Most importantly, they hold the line against reckless projects in flood-prone areas.

But Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities are scrambling because Doug Ford is taking their authority away.
 

https://secure.gpo.ca/civicrm/mailing/url?u=143161&qid=38944770

Defend Conservation Authorities: petition at above link
 

Doug Ford is giving himself the power to overturn scientific decisions and grant dangerous permits in wetlands and floodplains.

It will mean more highways, warehouses, and subdivisions where they don’t belong.

It will mean rising profits for developers and rising floodwaters for the rest of us.

Mike Schreiner is leading the charge against this dangerous action in Queen’s Park and yesterday he pressed the Premier again.

To my shock, the government had the audacity to claim they are “helping conservation authorities achieve their goal.”

Chris, Conservatives are shameless in their assault on the environment.

Doug Ford is ripping up the rules that were put in place to prevent catastrophic incidents like the 1948 flood that put downtown Brampton under six feet of water.

He’s putting lives and homes at risk.

This is our biggest campaign since we got Ford to back down on his Greenbelt plan.

Will you add your voice?

 

Abhijeet Manay
Deputy Leader
Green Party of Ontario

 
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email re Meeting @ Callaghan's Parking Lot this Sunday (Nov.29)

Hello Everybody,

Yep, I'll be there this Sunday. Very much looking forward to visiting Callaghan's Rapids again after the interruption of deer season.

Congrats to Matt on getting the contract position - he's an extremely effective and intuitive community leader! Under his leadership our community group has accomplished a lot in a very short time - we got the OPP to patrol the area and issue a substantial number of tickets to trespassing ATV riders, we were able to nudge Crowe Valley Conservation Area General Manager Tim Pidduck into visiting Callaghan's Rapids several times to observe the ongoing destruction by ATVers and illegal campers, Eastern Ontario Trail Riders Assoc. (EOTA) is now aware that their members have been trespassing and causing major ecological damage to our conservation area, etc. etc.  The battle isn't over, but the organizations responsible for maintaining and preserving Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area can no longer claim not to know what has been happening there!

Another issue which Tim and Crowe Valley Conservation Area (CVCA) must deal with is the Doug Ford governments ongoing deregulation of the many conservation authorities across our province. I've blog posted the email I received yesterday from the Green Party regarding this:

http://riffsandripplesfromzenrivergardens.blogspot.com/

Hope to see as many members as possible on Sunday - it's only as a community group that we seem able to get the organizations responsible for protecting Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area
active!

Chris

shaman in spirit boat carving at Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area

 

 

photo Bobbi Fulthorpe  Oct. 31/20

This is the rock carving I showed our tour a couple of weeks ago. I found it about a decade ago, and have only shown it to a handful of people. I don't know if it's a genuine Indigenous carving of a shaman in a spirit boat, like the extremely similar carvings at nearby Petroglyphs Prov. Park.  As you say, it sure doesn't look like a natural formation.

Re the 'young' look of the carving, that could be explained that it was likely covered by moss/lichen/mud/grass for centuries (like the Petroglyph carvings). Its discovery may ironically be 'credited' to the horribly destructive ATVs who've ripped off the surface coverings of the old footpath in the past few years to expose this possible piece of local Indigenous culture. Be interesting to poke around the general area to see if there are more carvings.

My friend Katherine and I found a stone axe head on a trail on the east bank of CRCA about a decade ago. Kathy took it home and put it on a window ledge. She and her sister sold the house soon after, and she forgot about our finding and left it. I haven't had the nerve to approach the new owners to ask if they have kept an unusually shaped rock left by previous owners.