Colour of today by Salimah Valiani

March 24, 2022
Poem name: Colour of Today Poet name: Salimah Valiani Poem begins: Turtle Island town gone in three days of 50º C greys browns carved living totems tombstones long houses bark Lytton Nlaka’pamux Oregon Jack Creek First Nations to live there last for exit help dandelion black unbroken clear cutting Mountain of gold ground planted in flat steel slats yellow with mottled edges C.I.9 Certificates greens red and white armed help in blaze Fraser River jade scarcifying salmon Joss House honouring Quan Yin Shen Nong the multiplex faceless the colour of today is wildfires the colour of yesterday sacred burns 1600 artefacts 1350 archives Shxwhá:y Village Long House open to evacuees supplies song dance tangles of tree ash memory love with and without these we will rebegin End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Salimah Valiani Salimah Valiani is a poet, activist and researcher. She has published five poetry collections: breathing for breadth (TSAR), Letter Out: Letter In (Inanna), land of the sky (Inanna), Cradles (Daraja), 29 leads to love (Inanna). Her story-poem, Dear South Africa, was selected as one of six works in Praxis Magazine’s 2019-2020 Online Chapbook Series. Her audiobook, Love Pandemic, is forthcoming from Daraja Press. She lives in many places and crosses borders on a regular basis. Check out her work at https://www.facebook.com/SalimahValianiPoet