Inspired By Toni Morrison's Line Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Inspired by Toni Morrison's line
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
First of all, her book, The Bluest Eye, is very good
Although it exposes the reader to the harshest realities of humankind
Not hardships alone but the negative thoughts
That pervade a child or adult's mind;

And there is a poignant aspect of haves and have nots
And have nots and haves in a way
When the black girl child goes to a magician
And asks him for the bluest eyes;

However, in the Afterword, Toni Morrison has used the portion of the line,
"my attempt to shape a silence while breaking it are attempts to
Transfigure the complexity and wealth of Black American culture into
A language worthy of the culture";

In my haste, I read the first part only
And it seemed to me a very profound evocation
And I shall quote examples which strengthen both thoughts
That arise in a reader's mind;

Taking the line at face value,
I was talking to my son who was telling me
That the indigenous people believe in political agreements
Made with signs and pictures
Rather than legal agreements
And hence, they are wont to get cheated in their side of the deal;

That explained to me what I had read in the Chatelaine article by Katherine Singh
Who had in turn quoted the Vancouver Sun who had attested that
There is no political treaty safeguarding the interests of the Wet' suwet'en people
In relation to the TransCanada pipeline project;

And I shall, despite the fact that this may antagonise the powers that be
In my career oriented goals, say that the TransCanada pipeline project
Has to be shelved and hope that I am successful in shaping a silence
By breaking it;

The fact that land is going to be dug up
To transport oil and natural gas
May spell doom to their natural habitat,
Think the Wet'sewet'en people;

And although as an engineer, I know that home heating has
Pipelines transporting natural gas,
The onus may be on PM Justin Trudeau
To convince the indigenous people that their natural resources will not be harmed;

Going back to an old controversy surrounding PM Justin Trudeau
As a young lad and young man when he blackened his face for dramatic effect,
And I did criticize him in no uncertain terms
But I think that he did shape the silence by breaking his own silence on the matter;

The debate that followed has made him a better man
For he has left his youthful personality behind and
Grown a white beard that is proof of his philosophical
Bent of mind in his political life.