Poem of the Week

The moment when, after many years

of hard work and a long voyage

you stand in the centre of your room,

house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,

knowing at last how you got there,

and say, I own this,

is the same moment when the trees unloose

their soft arms from around you,

the birds take back their language,

the cliffs fissure and collapse,

the air moves back from you like a wave

and you can't breathe.

No, they whisper. You own nothing.

You were a visitor, time after time

climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.

We never belonged to you.

You never found us.

It was always the other way round.

~ Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet and essayist. She has written 15 anthologies and at least 6 novels throughout her life. She is also a social and environmental activist that uses her novels to write about the social injustices towards women and people of color. She has won six literary awards and was “inducted to the Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2001.” She invented the LongPen, a device that “...allows a person to remotely write in ink anywhere in the world via tablet PC and the internet. It also allows for an audio and video conversation between the endpoints, such as a fan and author, while a book is being signed.” She currently speaks at various universities throughout the United States and Canada.   

Poem of the Week

By: Keira Zirkle