Kinosew Photo Shoot

blue-eyed-me and blonde mira

kayak all afternoon long

through reeds, ripples, light-rays

into the sun

for Kinosew, fish in Cree, we say

thank you for sharing your animals and your languages

for the kayak we say

thank you for sharing your technology and your art

for Kenosee Lake we say

thank you for sharing your water and your land

Note: A Kenosee resident told us that Kenosee means fish, but he didn't know in what language. He wondered if it was Dakota. I didn't think so, but what do I know, really... When I searched an on-line Cree dictionary, I saw that kinosew is fish in Cree. I've spent many summers on the shores of Kenosee and never knew what the name meant. So much to learn and appreciate about this land we share.

Thank you to photographer, Douglas E. Walker, who asked us if we'd kayak into the sunset and harvest moon in a photo shoot. Because we said yes we ended up spending four extra hours on the lake and what a gift that was, nowhere to be, no rush to get there, just gliding, playing with the mud hens running on the water, scaring up four pelicans, racing the muscrats, listening to the geese honking overhead.