upon
a ridge of land
assumed
they lay your cross
and stretch
your body
suspended
creation surveys your majesty mocked and crowned
nails pinning peace in a longing embrace for
fleshy wrecks and a
city of broken
promises
your heart
flows
while violence
beats
wisdom’s rage
and power’s aspirations
two kingdoms
crash at
your feet
and we long
to speak
a better word
than
Abel
University of British Columbia, Point Grey Campus (Vancouver)
“We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather
is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People.”