I have some topics that are on my mind

Trying to concentrate on just one thing is hard to find

I’ll start off by discussing Canada Day’s quiet celebration

We chose to use this time for reflection as a whole nation

Remembering residential school victims is what we chose to do

How many other children’s graves will be discovered when all this is through

I heard a leader claim there will be over fifty thousand children across this land

This level of cruelty is something I will never understand

This week, a native village in Lytton British Columbia was burnt to the ground

After recording the highest temperature in Canada that was ever found

We know of two people who perished in this blaze

If these are the only victims, we should all be amazed

They were surrounded by flames on every side

The only means to escape was to hop in your car and just ride

Just one direction was your course to head out of there

Your whole existence wavered on a wing and a  prayer

This settlement was decimated in one fell swoop

Yet another example of hardship for our indigenous group

This heat dome continues but it is slowly heading east

I hope Mother Nature finds a way of taming this beast

Last week’s subject that seemed so heavy, now seems so light

Are the Canadiens finished or do they still have some fight?

If they fail tonight, the season is  done

This means two years in a row that the Lightning have won

Having the “Habs” in the final has been a welcome treat

Hoping that this will be their first win of four and Tampa Bay doesn’t repeat

Our men’s basketball team failed to qualify for the Olympics this year

They lost to the Czechs by two points and cannot appear

The women however have a team in their race

In the FIBA rankings they occupy fourth place

Will they reach the podium? We will have to wait and see

They are only one step away from being in the top three

Here’s hoping they achieve this and they don’t run short

After all it was a Canadian who invented this sport

Just a little over two weeks for these Olympics to begin

Get behind all our athletes whether they lose or win

I guess in a whole, Canada was my theme for better or worse

I hope after all of these issues we are able to right this course

No matter who you are we need to better ourselves each and every day

If you find someone who needs help, try to show them the way

We now know that our past wasn’t always that bright

It’s now up to each of us to endeavor to make these things right

Looks like our nation still has a fighting chance

Now that the team from Montreal has officially advanced

The one who occupied the final sixteenth space

Is the only team from Canada that’s in the playoff race

They started off by finishing off the Leafs after being down three games to one

Once again as in the past, the Maple Leafs couldn’t get the job done

They then proceeded to finish off the Jets, in four games straight

Then left to relax and recover while they had to sit in wait

Many thought these Canadiens were finished when Vegas tied the next series up

They prevailed by winning the next two and have reached the finals for the cup

There is just one more opponent that is left in their way

That would be the Lightning that hail from Tampa Bay

They are the defenders and are the favourites in this final bout

You would have to be a fool if you are counting the Canadiens out

They have been the underdogs in every game they’ve played

They have stuck to the plan they made and have never strayed

The Lightning still are the team that they will have to beat

Will Montreal be able to accomplish this monumental feat?

They have proved the experts wrong in every single way

Have defied all the odds and are still hanging in there today

They have been extremely successful in this year’s playoff quest

However the Tampa Bay Lightning will prove their biggest test

Carey Price’s performance has been nothing short of stellar

Andrei Vasilevsky’s statistics are only slightly better

Tampa has five players who have more points than Montreal’s top achiever

Even with all this stacked against them, I am still a true believer

I’ve jumped upon this bandwagon like I did on the Raptor’s run

I have been pulling for a Canadian team since the playoffs first begun

Seeing hockey played in July is something we thought we’d never see

Standing proud behind the Canadiens is something we can all agree

It looks like our lives could be closer to normal before we reach this fall

It would be nice to sit back and watch the Montreal Canadiens win it all

We’re almost finished with the Covid and are just happy to survive

It would be the icing on the cake if this team wins number twenty five

I got my second shot today and I’ll be watching the opener tonight

I’m confident that Montreal will give them quite a fight

This country will be consumed by this series and be on everybody’s mind

The first thing is not to panic if this hockey team falls behind

Remember the first round when they were on the ropes?

They will be soaking up all our energy and keeping up our hopes

Just four games to win is what this franchise will try to attain

If Florida wins it all, the Stanley Cup they will retain

The Canadiens haven’t drank from Lord Stanley since nineteen ninety three

The games will all be televised for everyone to see

I hope that Price and company hoist the cup, yes I really do

I will be back cheering for my Blackhawks once next season starts anew

My wife and I were spending another quiet night alone

When the silence was interrupted by the ringing of my phone

It was our mobile phone company that was on the other end of the line

Hello, yes it’s me and we are both feeling fine

Then she continued on her worn out rehearsed spiel

For some reason on this evening, it garnered some appeal

I always had a steadfast no to any upgrade in the past

Somehow for some unknown reason I gave into it at last

The mobiles that we have are both so out of date

We were promised the latest model at a better rate

I thought I could use more data for my daily walk

The last thing I need it for is to stop and talk

Lately I’ve been using a radio when I  walk around

Using the headphones doesn’t kick off the speaker’s sound

So when I roam the city listening to the deejay’s song

Whoever I am close to is able to sing along

Now I am carrying a cell phone and this radio from place to place

With one in each pocket, it’s doesn’t leave me a whole lot of space

I can’t hear my phone ring when  someone wants to keep in touch

Even though the phone’s on vibrate, I seldom feel it much

So I figured with this new fangled item, it could do everything I need

I told her just to sign us up and now I could succeed

Three days later they delivered them to our front door

When we finally unpacked them, it turned out to be quite a chore

The woman promised us that the sim cards would be installed and ready to go

They were both nowhere to be found, so I called to let them know

They insisted that I can just go to their store and pick them up instead

I didn’t appreciate the tone he used when he told me what he said

I told him I would be visiting his kiosk and dropping the phones off there

I told him we were promised sim cards but he just didn’t seem to care

So I packaged up the phones and headed to our local mall

When I answered all my Covid questions I was told to make a call

I would have to make an appointment in order to have my say

So I left there more steamed and scheduled one for the next day

In  the meantime I calculated with precision how much data I  would use

Signed up with another provider after all of that abuse

It wasn’t long before the new package made it here

I’ve been listening to the new phone and the music is crystal clear

Now I can enjoy it and nobody else can hear

No sweat about the data, there’s nothing now to fear

Each day I find new things on this gadget that I missed the day before

There are so many extras, I couldn’t ask for more

I was using my device and couldn’t believe what I seen

There was an icon of a radio buried on the second screen

It lets me tune into the stations that I enjoy everyday

It doesn’t require one byte of data and is free for me to play

The plan that I am locked into I won’t need that much at all

This poem is now finished, I have to make a call

How can a man filled with so much hate

Deliver a Muslim family such a tragic fate?

Three generations that totaled five

Four now dead, just one will survive

The one who lived is only nine years of age

His whole future destroyed by an act of rage

This was no accident, it was a well formed plan

Conceived by the mind of a twenty year old man

The Afzaal family were just walking down the street

Chased down by Nathaniel Veltman who was in the driver’s seat

A black Dodge Ram equipped with a bull bar on the front

Was the weapon of choice for this tragic stunt

He was wearing a military helmet and body armour as well

This is what two of the witnesses were to tell

After parking his vehicle he instructed a taxi driver to call the local force

I guess the way he was attired he was expecting the worse

He instructed the cabbie to record his arrest

Perhaps he wanted to remember his “Satanic” quest?

London Ontario is where this scene was played

Now this Muslim community is so afraid

It’s just been over four years since a Mosque was attacked in Montreal

Six men were killed and seriously injuring nineteen people in all

In Quebec they passed a Laicity Act two years after that attack

Sympathy for these murdered victims is something that they would lack

This law prevents Muslim women from wearing the hijab when they are teaching school

This is just one career choice that was affected by enacting this rule

So a bad case of Islamophobia has reared its ugly head

Perhaps with what has transpired, we can show some sympathy instead?

How come it always has to take a crisis to stir some common sense?

There has to be someone murdered to come to their defense?

These people are immigrants from another land

It’s time to recognize their plight and begin to understand

Canada used to be a nation where anyone could feel safe and secure

This was our reputation and a major part of our allure

Mass killings on our home soil are still considered rare

The fact is that they are increasing and we must be aware

We can’t be complacent and let this incident slip by

We must act upon it before someone else has to die

This isn’t our Canada, it’s never been this way

We can’t be compared to the States who have hundreds murdered every day

The outpouring of sympathy shown can all make us proud

We have to show that this episode must not be allowed

The Muslim people are fragile and have every right to be

To restore faith in their new home is up to you and me

This proclamation is now in effect and don’t dare ask when

It’s time to let the world know in Canada, you are safe once again

All of these cultures we must learn to comprehend

In doing so we may achieve the honour of being called their friend

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

Our freedom is now close at hand although the plague is not gone

Perhaps we will be able to venture further than our own front yard

Where to go? Who to see? What will you do first?

So many options to entail, you may feel you’re about to burst

I think you should take upon advisement to at least stay north of the border

Make no plans to visit America until at least they get things in order

But if you should choose to cross that line and visit in the States

There’s no telling what kind of adventures are in store for you to await

Once you set your foot on American soil

You could find yourself in for quite a toil

The fantasy land experience will hit you right away

All you have to do is observe and listen to what the people say

Just in case you missed it and are truly not aware

There are things you need to know before you venture down there

I am just going to do it randomly telling you things you should know

This in turn could affect your decision on whether to stay or go

Depending on your location some residents will refuse to say Biden is the boss

They believe their election was rigged and Trump has never admitted loss

It may happen more in the southern areas because Donald is their man

I would recommend not mentioning politics and adhere to this plan

Don’t mention the insurrection at the Capital and the riot that occurred there

They will not even acknowledge it and show that they don’t care

Sure, they have the videos of their leader urging this mob on

Their Republican Senators treat as just another day that has come and gone

Don’t mention the mass shootings that happen every year

So many people killed and it’s like they don’t care

The innocent black people shot and killed on the street

How these same people’s voting is being restricted because of the Republican’s defeat

The fact that this same party is bowing to Trump and they need him to win

That is where the trouble in America does begin

The leaders in the House and Senate taking back the words they say

Using Trump as their Guru and pleasing him in every way

The fact that McConnell and McCarthy have done an about face

Shows how bad this has become and is now a total disgrace

Then you have Gaetz and Taylor-Greene roaming from town to town

Part of the three ringed circus and they are both clowns

Gaetz accused of paying for sex with a minor

Taylor Greene with her holocaustic barbs, things couldn’t get any finer

This country is in so much turmoil who knows what could occur?

This has all the ingredients to start a Civil war

I don’t know what the appeal of Trump is to all the people there?

If there is something they are hiding, I think it’s time to share!

They are closing in on his corrupt company and perhaps be charged with a crime

Maybe there will be arrests and someone will end up serving time

He pardoned all his convicted friends and they are all free today

It would be such sweet irony if he’s the one who finally has to pay

The chaos that he has caused in just one four year term

Ignoring all the experts while dealing with the Covid 19 germ

The fact that he is still wreaking havoc all across the nation

I don’t know how they start to correct this situation

An alternate universe is what his followers are living in

They are never going to comprehend that Donald Trump never got the win

Who knows how long it will take for this Country to forge ahead

They could be still trying to heal long after Trump is dead

This visit to the United States could end being something you will dread

There are so many more civil places that you could travel to instead

The “no mow May” I was preaching about has now come and gone

Just one week left until June, but last night I cut my lawn

Seems the triad we had formed was now down to just two

Giving in to our most senior member was something we chose to do

The way he explained it was that the dandelions have gone to seed

These have been pollinated so you now can cut down this weed

It made sense to the rest of us so I took the lawnmower out on its first run

Both of our properties looked much better when I was finally done

This morning I woke up and there is still some yellow in our small expanse

Looks like “Mother Nature” has given them a second chance

How long will it be before we have to give it another trim?

The person I mentioned earlier, I guess we should talk to him

 I looked out of my window and another neighbour has cut his grass as well

When will the last straggler cut their lawn? Only time will tell

What happens to the groundhog that was feasting on our crop?

I guess he will have to find another place to stop

We watched him sit there while eating this yellow flower

It was amazing how many dandelions he could devour

I’m not sure if he’s the one who resides under our shed

Guess he’s forced to graze at another premises instead

I then proceeded to the back yard and cleaned up that terrain

Wasn’t hard to see where I was while I was cutting against the grain

There was also some escapees that survived that spring shear

So now there are more spots of yellow that have managed to appear

Still front and rear, these blooms are there to display

How much longer will they last? I guess it’s hard to say

The transformation from yellow to white puffs could come soon

Will it come before we reach the month of June?

Now that we have taken the first steps to manicure this space

It is now our commitment and try to maintain our place

I just caught a neighbour cutting grass that is already shorter than mine

The same ones who are always the first to bitch and whine

If they were watching me last night when the air was full of white

The amount of seeds I dispersed must have given them a fright

It appeared that it was snowing there were so many in the air

I’m not the one who’s greedy, I always like to share

So if in a few days, a bumper crop befalls us all

The vision of me and my mower will be the first thing they’ll recall

I have confidence in them all because they won’t let one seed sprout

Ridding their property of this mange is what it’s all about

I’m assuming they are on full alert and already examining every blade

The thought of a possible infestation makes them very much afraid

Meanwhile I’ll be on my front porch every chance I get

I will enjoy each day of this season and feeling no regret

The days are getting warmer and the fear of Covid is almost gone

The last thing I want to do this summer is obsess about my lawn

I am sitting on the front porch on the first nice weekend this spring

Sitting relaxing and taking in everything

This day turned out warm and the air is fresh and clean

Our front yard is thriving and has a nice shade of green

This however is not the only colour that stands out

There are splashes of yellow interweaved all about

Most of our neighbours have all agreed

We have decided to protect this vital weed

Three residences that are joined together in a row

Have decided to let all of our dandelions grow

It’s for the benefit of the pollinators that come our way

We’ve jumped on the bandwagon of the “no mow May”

This gives a chance for these insects to do their thing

It benefits all of them during the early  spring

But then you have the diehards who don’t think this is right

They prefer to annihilate each root and keep this crop out of sight

You see them on their turf on their hands and knees

Pulling each and every one of them like they are some kind of disease

To me this is just a useless chore

Been there, done that and don’t do it no more

We did at one time accomplish this feat

Even had people tell us our yard was the nicest on the street

We had new sod installed which grew in thick and lush

Running around in barefoot was like walking on carpet plush

I was devoted to maintaining this year after year

By the third summer I had enough and called it a career

I have seen my property go from pristine now to bad

But when I was into it, I gave it everything I had

I am now happy just to cut it when it grows

I may extend this “no mow” policy into June, who really knows?

I prefer to sit on my front porch and watch others obsess over their lawn

Scanning their tiny estates and making sure every single weed is gone

In my neighbourhood the grass is definitely greener across the street

I have decided to throw in the towel and refuse to compete

I admit their yards are wonderful with all the work that they do

Living on our front porch spring and summer we have a scenic view

Now as far as their vista, I have to wonder what they have to say

Looking at the array of green and yellow each and every day

To show our devotion we erected a sign and here’s what it reads

“Experimental dandelion farm, do not disturb the weeds”

We will protect these yellow flowers until they go to seed

After that time passes I’m not sure how I’ll proceed

Maybe I’ll be inspired by the sights I’ve taken in

Perhaps pride in my property will once again begin

Or maybe I’ll sit and relax and enjoy the birds sing

And not do a single thing until maybe next spring

Will we ever get this Covid-19 under control?

Or will it continue to take its toll?

The age group for the vaccine is changing from day to day

How many more lives will have to pay?

Right now, India is suffering most of all

As well as Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal

This southeast Asia region has reported almost three million cases

Twenty five thousand people have died in two days in these places

This infection is proceeding in leaps and bounds

As much as five times the rate because of the gathering of large crowds

Issuing protocols for their New Year’s event

This catastrophe was something they could not prevent

People are dying at a rate we have never seen before

Trying to keep this under wraps is a major chore

Nations around the world will have to assist them in this task

So many lives could have been saved if they only worn a mask

There are so many poor countries, it’s now a global crusade

They need to be tended to and this goal in no way should be swayed

This battle will be continuous and may never cease

Controlled in one area and in another it continues to increase

With all these bodies moving from place to place

It’s impossible to control the entire human race

This I see as the problem and this virus is here to stay

How can we curtail this when all these factors are in play?

Then you have people believing it’s all a hoax

How can we manage to convince all these folks?

Concentrating on just one area seems to be all for naught

The virus you try to eliminate will show up in another spot

They will name it for the region because it’s now a more contagious strain

Like the pattern we have been seeing time and time again

We will be taking covid shots like we do with the flu

And still have these morons continue to believe it’s not true

As long as these ones in denial are refusing to be dosed

This infection will continue on this endless supply of hosts

The only way I see the future, if I have to be blunt

That the vaccine we are injecting is able to stay out in front

Because if there’s a variance that occurs that we can’t overpass

That’s when this scourge will end up finally kicking our ass

Here’s hoping my prophecy is proven wrong

Here’s hoping that we unite and all get along

Make a plan and eventually get it right

Maybe then I will see a future that is bright

Just get it into your head what they said from the start

Everyone wear your mask and stay six feet apart

We have to get this, it’s back to square one

If we don’t , this pandemic will never be done

An event I won’t soon forget happened this past Saturday

The results I experienced are still haunting me today

An occurrence that most people fear and dread

The type that you wish happened to someone else instead

It initiated a little after eleven, before high noon

The first wish was for it to all end soon

We all wondered aloud and it caused us great fright

The question was would we come out of this alright?

We proceeded to gather things together the best that we could

We were in this united, something we both understood

We had a game plan that we practiced so many times before

We knew what laid ahead of us could prove to be quite a chore

I headed down the stairs to survey our basement space

Then proceeded to search every room in our entire place

Everything looked good but we had no time to  spare

We wouldn’t be content until we scoured everywhere

We managed to stay calm, we tried not to freak out

Even while both of us were running all about

We checked our provisions to see what we had in store

Just in the off chance that we would have to set out for some more

We were prepared to hunker down and we didn’t know the length

We decided not to over exert and try best to retain our strength

New batteries were inserted in each and every flashlight

We were now well prepared for the oncoming night

We both were experiencing a chill because the temperature started to drop

This fiasco was persisting, when will it all stop?

We were determined that we wouldn’t bow to this setback

There was a large section of our city that was experiencing this attack

We never felt so helpless and lost in our way

Our new way of life, was it here  to stay?

I looked at my phone and it was down to thirty percent

I turned it off to conserve power during this tragic event

I never opened the fridge or the freezers so they would remain cold

The longer this lasts, who knows what perils could unfold?

No internet access, no way to get onto the net

How much more bleaker could this situation get?

We had to conserve our cell phone data and stick with our plan

Can we outrun this upheaval? I certainly hope we can!

Just then the dead silence was broken by the furnace kicking in the heat

We both congratulated each other for accomplishing this feat

We were now safe because the hydro had restored our power

This catastrophe we will never forget lasted almost a whole hour