I have travelled the world and been to every continent, and yet the one place in the world that etched its place in my heart forever was Haida Gwaii; The land of the Haida people and the most majestical place on earth. In between the British Columbia coast and the most treacherous ocean on the planet and more ship wrecks than people, there is Haida Gwaii.

Haida Gwaii

The mist shrouded you like a mystical wonder,

Your white peaks scraped the skies

Coasts carved by fierce force

Juan Perez wondered and left

The others left sorrow

White man traded you blankets in peace,

So they say,

as they wiped out your people with scorn and disease

Missionaries moved you away from culture that lay

So you would be saved

Only to have crosses carved on your graves

 Land of enchantment, reconciliation and hope

Destiny is weighted by the cultures that cope

Monster trees gobble the past

The spirits and treasures are all that last

Be it under the mosses, or the sacrilegious crosses

What comes from the earth goes go back to her,

Reconciling losses

The spirits are watching with unwavering stares,

as today’s Haida children sing, dance and care;

Stories alive and forged on the future

Cleaning up from the past of the evil preachers

For yesterday’s stories were of death and scorn,

Haida Gwaii of today is being reborn

As our boat roared, pulling away from the berth

My heart was heavy, to see the remains of history going back to the earth.

I could see the giant Sitka Spruce scraping the sky

Hearing the drums of the spirits saying good-bye

Haida Gwaii forever, and forever is now

The mist covered you once again, from the view of the bow

Carl Meadows,

June 20, 2010