“GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN”

In our country Canada everyone now living
Should feel shame and disgrace, beg to be forgiven
Sharing responsibility for the horrible news of late
In another residential school, children's lives were at stake
How could crime happen without authority knowing more
What happened to these children, missing by the score?
For years we have heard of closing of similar schools,
Without looking into it it further, we were careless fools.
At this school, graves of 215 children have been found.
How many more are there, if we but look around?
They were large residential schools, half hidden away,
Staffed, managed, and supported by prominent churches of the day.
It's time to open records, let the awful truth be known.
These children should have been cared for, as if they were our own.
Their fathers and grandfathers fought in wars to keep us free.
Descendants should be respected just the same as you or me.
Now listen to the survivors, they have a tale to tell
We should have acted years ago when things weren't going well.
For generations, they have suffered, which we now regret
Regardless of what we do now, no one will ever forget.
To the Natives of this country, Canada is their homeland
How they survived the winters, is hard to understand.
They spoke a language of their own, lived in shelters they made,
Providing protection in winter, and in summer shade
They accepted creation a precious gift, produced by a Great Mind
They worshipped Mother Nature, so providing, faithful and kind
Explorers came to discover and claim this paradise their gem
But why did they want these people to change and live like them?
These large schools were built according to their plan
But forcing participation is not welcomed by any man.
The bare truth must be told and to the world revealed
By repenting, forgiving, loving, perhaps we can be healed.
It is too late for correction, irreparable damage was done.
Apologizing, saying sorry cannot return a child – not one.
Your day has finally arrived, now tell all who can
Till we learn what really happened in schools across our land.
It is the only way to heal the years of heartache in your lives.
It will shamefully be recorded in the Canadian archives.

By: Susan Bain-Glenholme (Age 99) June 2021