Once there were bears in California
the woods fat with their smell.
Once bears roamed among redwoods–
aged trees that wouldn’t be felled.

Bears Once, by Halifax writer David Huebert, is a poem about the grizzly bear, once prominent in large swaths of North America, now extinct in California and elsewhere. The poem could as well have been about Nova Scotia’s mainland moose.

let’s tend to the forests like prophets
encourage them to wilder in old growth
and watch them mature into being

raising forests is a poem by Mi’kmaw poet and story teller shalan joudry of L’sitkuk (Bear River First Nation). It’s from her latest collection, Waking Ground.

Muster the troops line up the ranks
A woman’s going to send the tanks
And all of us will give her thanks
Especially weapons manufacturers, banks

A poem written by El Jones on the occasion of this year’s rally and webinar in opposition to the 12th annual Halifax International Security Forum

“Growing up with various medical conditions, I struggled with how society perceived my (dis) abilities and began documenting my experiences through poetry.”

We’re delighted to present this poem and photograph by Cara Jones, one of the five poems that were selected after we issued a call for poems earlier in the year.