Sep 15, 2013 - A WAY by Sarah Scout

IS IT the nomad
in me,
who always…
eventually,
wants to pack up
and move,
and walk
away?

OR COULD IT BE…
that ONCE WILD!
that ONCE REZ!
NDN!
foster child???

Who USED to be…
somebody’s daughter,
Who USED to be…
somebody’s cuzin?
Who USED to be…
Somebody’s sister & friend?

Who USED to be….
Somebody.

Else.

…

We ALL knew
how to fight
(that was the one thing we ALL did rather well)
But we did not know
“HOW!”
to
fly
away.

We did not fly
away
We did not fly
away
We did not fly.

We often leave now
without saying goodbye.
We pack up and move,
without going anywhere,
& think…
we are moving away.

You see…they did not teach us
how to stay,

Only to pick up,
(whatever you can)
and go away.

Always
away,
Always
away.

But…where…is…THAT…away??

That some…where?

That some…day?

Will we ever get there??

When & Where
‘away’
turns into
A WAY

A WAY
to fly
A WAY
to take flight

and RISE

and SING!!

and DANCE!!!

and PRAY!!!!

OUR WAY!!!!

A WAY
TO REBUILD
and (maybe this time)

Stay.

Is there A WAY…
to stay…
WHO WE ONCE WERE…

before

they came??

Sarah Scout is an active urban Aboriginal writer and Indigenous Artivist in the Calgary, Alberta community where she has lived for the past ten years. From 2000 – 2002 she attended Lethbridge Community College where she studied print journalism and communication arts under D’Arcy Kavanaugh. Her work has been published in print mediums such as The Endeavour, The Lethbridge Herald, Say and Beatroute Magazine. From November 2006 – February 2009 she was the managing editor of New Tribe Magazine: Calgary ‘s non-profit Urban Aboriginal Youth Monthly. Founding the Aboriginal Writers Circle in 2007, Sarah created this group for Aboriginal writers, authors and storytellers to come together in celebration and exploration of the written word and oral storytelling tradition. In her spare time, she also creates and distributes her own independent zines which document personal anecdote, stories, life writing experience and poetry in a mixed collage of black and white photography and experimental graphic design. Her zine titles include: Out Cast By Choice, Out Cast By Choice: Issue Two – A Choice of Futures Waiting To Happen, Jack Rubber, Assimilated Ego, Assimilated Ego 2 and Indian Grave Yard. Winner of the Royal Bank of Canada Aboriginal Student [two year] Scholarship in 2009, Sarah studied at the University of Calgary in pursuit of her BA in English. She currently is writing her first ‘life writing’ novel “Incomplete Indian: The Indigenous Life Writings of Sarah Scout.”