Poem 119: 215 And Counting

Religious orders sent out across our land because they had souls to save

These same people sending children to an early grave

The first thing that we all must understand

The territory we inhabit never was “our land”

It belongs to the people that we choose to abuse

Has this latest horror finally lit the fuse?

While searching the Kamloops residential school grounds

The graves of two hundred and fifteen children were found

This was just one facility and there are so many more

When they survey all these sites, what will be the final score?

It may come as quite a shock to hear this telling news

But not to all these indigenous people that the government chose to abuse

This cruel saga is now over a century old

Bureaucrats ignoring all the stories that they were told

Decade after decade they chose to send them there

Only emphasizing that they didn’t really care

The Catholic Church were the ones chosen to run these schools

They set all the benchmarks and enforced all their own rules

They were sent out to “civilize” all these tribes and make them right

They went about it by using intimidation and fright

These poor people didn’t have a voice

Their children were abducted, they really had no choice

Some taken at gunpoint and lead away

The survivors and their families are still suffering today

These children who were happy and always free to roam

These establishments of hell would now be their home

The nuns and priests were now put in charge of their care

These poor unfortunate kids were now living a nightmare

Their spirits were eventually crushed and lost their sense of pride

Those that attended still wonder how they were able to survive

This has been a huge burden on their population as a whole

This mental and physical maltreatment has taken quite a toll

These children were raped, beaten and murdered, their stories never varied

The only reason government is listening is because they know where the bodies are buried

The Prime Minister apologizing and saying the Vatican is to blame

Although the Canadian Government financed it all, it really is a shame

Over one hundred and thirty schools of this kind found along our way

There are still a dozen of them operating today

The plan is to search them all that will come at quite a cost

They should be accountable for every child that was lost

There is no way we will be able to atone for all the wrongs we made

As a nation we are responsible and should be totally dismayed

There will be thousands of bodies found once everything is done

This nation must take the responsibility for every single one

The fact that this group today is still often maligned

Look at all the missing indigenous women they still cannot find

Reservations with no clean water and houses not fit to live in

When will all this promised reparation finally begin?

It’s time to tend to all of these regardless of the cost

This will never be sufficient for the lives that they lost