Fortifying

Double width cell at Kingston Penitentiary

We gravitate to like-minded people

They make us feel comfortable

They reaffirm who we are

They fortify our identity

.

When we are confronted by the other

We feel challenged

We feel uncomfortable

We feel attacked

.

When we are confronted by the other

We get defensive

We feel our identity being challenged

We seek the safety of our tribe

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We defend our identity

We affirm our rightness

We insist the other is wrong

We assert our superiority

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When we are confronted by the other

We listen for weakness

We exploit their vulnerability

We plan attack strategies

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We lack the needed humility

We lack the desire to learn

We lack the ability to listen

We guard our comfort zone

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We lack the will to reach out

We lack the ability to empathize

We fail to build a relationship

We focus on differences

.

We lack the capacity to listen

We are suspicious

We respond in fear

We miss a critical choice

.

We need to open our heart

There is more that unites us

Than that which divides us

We need to posture humility

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When we are confronted by the other

A wonderful opportunity awaits

The potential for a rich relationship

An opportunity to exchange hearts

.

Through an exchange of hearts

We will grow personally

We will honour the other

We broaden our world

.

Jasper Hoogendam. (c) June 2023

The Gift

Fresh out of the garden

At times when I visit

I like to leave a gift

I want to honour

The hospitality shown

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What I leave depends

On who is the receiver

Or how I feel moved

How I have been enriched

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I have given maple syrup

Collected, boiled and bottled

An envigorating activity

In the early spring

.

I have given vegetables

Seeded in the spring

Watered and tended

As the summer moves on

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I have given a poem

Having listened and observed

Capturing part of the character

Remembering a spouse or a friend

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The gift gains value

In the giving

The gift gains value

In the memory it holds

.

Jasper Hoogendam (c) May 2023

Smudging *

Algonquin College, Ottawa

I attended an Indigenous worship event recently on the traditional territory of the Algonquin First Nations.

I submit to you oh Creator

Only you can cleanse me

Only you can make me whole

.

As the sweetgrass smoke rises

I cup my two hands together

Letting the smoke wash over me

Chosing each part of me in turn

.

Cleanse my mouth

Remove the hurts spoken

That I may speak words of love

.

Cleanse my ears

From the things I have heard

Remove what lacked compassion

.

Cleanse my eyes

Help me to see better

To see the goodness of your world

To see the good in others

.

Cleanse my head

Clear my thoughts

To focus on what is honourable

.

Cleanse my heart

That love may flow.

That hearts may heal

.

Cleanse me wholly

That I can be of service to others

That I can honour the Creator

.

” Smudging is a sacred Indigenous cleansing ceremony by burning sweetgrass.“

Jasper Hoogendam

Dusty Garden

Even the Weeds won’t Grow

Putting down straw for potatoes

Transplanting kale and tomatoes

Planting beans, onions, and peas

Water them each morning if you please

.

Watering for several weeks in a row

Yet most plants are reluctant to grow

While some transplant wither and die

The whole garden remains too dry

.

The temperatures dip and rise

The wind blows and dies

Day in and out again and again

I hope one day we’ll get a steady rain

.

Praying for a refreshing rain to come

Barely a sprinkle, then it’s done

The recent forecast promises rain

I hope I won’t be disappointed again

.

(It’s so dry even the weeds won’t grow

Consider that a consolation, hardly so

.

Jasper Hoogendam (c) June 2023

Shoulders

We stand on the shoulders

Of those who walked before us

Our accomplishments are built

On what others have created

.

I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

Their place of privilege aids mine

Their marginalization of others

Their attitudes form my inheritance

.

I stand on the shoulders of my race

I benefit from their misuse of power

Marginalizing the non-white

For personal comfort and gain

.

I stand on the shoulders of privilege

But like to claim my own success

Proudly claiming my work ethic

As wholly my accomplishment

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I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

They were party to colonization

They plundered the colonies

Calling it trade and claiming to help

.

Stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

Will I blindly accept their acquired goods

Will I maintain the hold on power

Maintaining my place of privilege

.

I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

I have a choice to make

Stay the course to solidify control

Or undo the wrongs being done

.

I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

Making me party to the Two Row Wampum Treaty

Henry Hudson and the Haudenosaunee

To help each other and not hinder

.

I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

The genetic lottery of birthright

Do I choose to actively participate

In The Dish With One Spoon treaty

.

I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors

Making me part of a larger treaty

The Dish With One Spoon treaty

Southern Ontario being the treaty land

.

The Dish With One Spoon treaty

No knives. Agreeing to live in peace

One Spoon so we all must share

Each ensuring the bowl is never empty

.

Jasper Hoogendam. (c) June 2023

Strange Weather Forecast

Trying to breathe easy

At the age of five I was growing up

On the shores of a Great Lake

In the fall, I was fascinated with fog

Frequent in autumn but not summer

.

Fog was truly a fascinating weather event

By walking, I could make things disappear

By walking back, they would reappear

I had entered a fantasy world

.

When I was ten, I heard about smog

A growing reality in major cities

Not the fantasy world of age five

A new grim reality I pondered

.

Hearing about smog at ten

Made me wonder about city life

Imagine one day in the future

Having to buy a breath of fresh air

.

The dystopian musings as a child

Never fearing the eventual reality

Because the westerly breeze

Would keep fresh air streaming in

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At age fifty a change in forecasting

The ozone layer compromised

Daily UV index reports

Precautions needed to protect our skin.

.

At age seventy, I see a weird forecast

Not a prediction of 40% chance of rain

Not a prediction of a high of 25 C

A strange addition to the forecast

.

Forecast of sunny and scattered smoke

A high of 23 C and widespread smoke

I’m expecting a fine tuned report

Smoke in low lying areas

.

Weather advisory to take shelter

Lock yourself in your house

Close all your windows

Breathe in the hepa filtered air

.

Our rivers no longer clean to drink

UV rays attacking our skin

Inhale the air at your own risk

My childhood dystopia a sure reality

.

Jasper Hoogendam. (C) June 2023

How many days till we can breathe easy?

Weapon of Choice

Indigenous Respect For the Flora & Fauna

The more I read about Indigenous Peoples

The more I respect their culture

The more I contemplate their values

The more I value Indigenous beliefs

.

Traditional Indigenous beliefs

Traditional Indigenous ways

Reflect what the whiteman’s Bible teaches

Values my parents instilled in me

.

The Bible reading people

A most promising match

With Indigenous Peoples

A basis for a lasting friendship

.

Yet a history of strife

A past filled with conflict

Compatible beliefs dashed

By opposing dreams

.

Claiming grounds for selfish gain

Who can withstand the zeal

When one claims a higher power

The bible a weapon of choice since 1492

.

Turning love into hostility

Turning care into abuse

Turning sharing into greed

Turning good into evil

.

We can chart a new path

Trading hostility for love

Trading abuse for caring

Trading greed for sharing

.

Each trade can be achieved

Through a humble change of heart

.

Jasper Hoogendam (c) February 2023

Dutch Connection

Two Row Wampum Belt*

Canoes and ships on the Hudson

A meeting of cultures

The Dutch ship of Henry Hudson

The Canoe of the Haudenosaunee

.

The Dutch came to trade

They sailed to acquire riches

The Haudenosaune were peace makers

They were looking for friendship

.

The Haudenosaunee were a deterent

In their search for riches to repay their creditors

The Haudenosaunee amendable to trade

Only as equal partners

.

The Dutch wanted a trade deal

They insisted on meeting their ‘King’

A patriarchal mind could not recognize

The power of the clan mothers

.

Friendship or no deal as the basis for trade

A relationship of respect is based on trust

A relationship built on trust is one of peace

Who would even consider short changing a friend

.

The two row wampum was the agreement

A covenant affirming friendship

So that both would grow and thrive

A covenant the Dutch traders failed to honour

.

Much that we as settlers have gained

While pushing our ‘friends’ into poverty

We have confiscated land and resources

Focusing primarily on personal gain

.

When will the theft and hurt stop

When will the denial end

When will justice be achieved

So that reconciliation can begin

.

* The Two Row Wampum represents the friendship agreement between Henry Hudson and the Haudenosaunee 410 years ago.

Jasper Hoogendam. (C) June 2023

Hopeful

Mural at Algonquin College, Ottawa

Can one be hopeful?

Not the “I hope it snows tonight”

So we can ski fresh snow

Not the “I hope it rains tonight”

The garden looks parched

.

Can one be hopeful

Hopeful that relationships will change

When no change has been seen in a long while

When no change is reasonably expected

.

Can one be hopeful

When the hope creates repeated hurts

When each day one’s hope is dashed

.

Can one be hopeful

When one is compelled to begin each day offering an act of forgiveness

Knowing the forgiveness will be repeated the next day

Forgiveness being offered with sincerity

.

Can one be hopeful

When the opposite is just not an option

When the opposite is possibly worse

.

Living as a “pathological hopeful”

Avoiding the pitfall of becoming cynical

Is a challenging journey

Only to be ventured with a guide

.

Only the Creator who gave you life

Can guide and protect you from cynicism

Only the Creator who formed your

Inmost being with peace in your bones

Can sustain you

.

You can only be a pathologically hopeful

To love those who hurt you

When you give yourself over fully

By fully trusting your Creator

.

I don’t know how to be a pathological hopeful.

Maybe I can learn

As I see you live it

My mentor of hope

.

Jasper Hoogendam. (c) May 2023

Dedicated to Adrian from whom I have learned some key elements needed to promote justice so that reconciliation can become a reality.