JILLIAN CHRISTMAS
The Rusty Toque | Issue 12 | Poetry | June 30, 2017
Northern LightStepping off the plane in Whitehorse the last thing I expect to feel is home not quite alone but close enough here in this great black north. As we drive away from the airport Chris points out the window That's Antoinette's, Caribbean food if you're feeling in need of a pick-me-up. She's from Tobago. And I'm not sure if he knows it’s the same island that bred these bones, that just the song of its name is home. What strange things are we Creatures of the Diaspora, treasures of the Caribbean Sea, knocking our knees together in parkas teeth chattering where the thin trees stretch high the heavens to seek the queerest light? What strange escapes have we made to want to call this place home? And I do. I do feel the ghosts of women not unlike us, whose resilience and fortitude pulled more than gold and dust and opportunity from this blistering cold. I am told the Alaska Highway was an engineering feat constructed under the doubt and bloody weight of Jim Crow. What strange things are we that we see a barrier but build a road? I know this to be true: There is not always a way around, but I promise you a way through if we can remember both the haunted and the Hunters, if we can be courageous enough to dig into the depths of humane capabilities, stretch our capacities for tolerance and love. How strange and brave are we? It's winter here yet it feels like everywhere, the world is turning cold and stark. Oh nation, who will birth this light work, build, nurture, fight for a place we can all call home regardless of difference, celebrate our place in this shared story, this fierce resistance? Some think the dark is full of terrors because they cannot see what it conceals or perhaps they do not know that the dark itself is a precious gift and we, strange creatures of the shimmering north, can be the light that it reveals. |
JILLIAN CHRISTMAS was born and raised in Markham, Ontario. She currently lives on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam people (Vancouver, BC.), where she serves as Artistic Director of Versəs Festival of Words. Jillian is an enthusiastic organizer and activist in the Canadian arts community, her focus being to increase anti-oppression initiatives in spoken word. She has participated in, developed and executed programs in partnership with Toronto Poetry Project, Wordplay, Brendan McLeod's Travelling Slam, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Opera, and the CULTCH Mentorship, and facilitated spoken word workshops for youth and adults across the country.
