Zhaaboomin

Follow me on the path home 

The place of being

The place of language 

The place where physical and metaphysical intertwine 

The place of happiness, sadness, growth 

The place of life

The place of ceremony

The place where family waits

The place we call home

You know our home as Lake Katherine 

I know it as zhaaboomin

Named for the Gooseberries 

A name passed down to us by our Elders

Words as old as this country, words older than the first ships

In these words are land, history, and teachings 

Zhaaboomin

This place is home

Coming home, I am careful 

Coming home, I am anxious 

Coming home, I am a stranger 

Coming home, I am a visitor 

Coming home, I cannot stay 

Coming home, I am still coming home 

Coming home to sing 

Coming home to pray 

Coming home to celebrate

Coming home to being 

Coming home to reclaim 

The sound of the drums echo in my memory 

The colours of dancers regalia flowing like the tall grass in the wind 

Songs passed down through the generations 

Sounds of laughter and conversations

Phantoms move around me as I am lost in the memory of the first time I came home

A child moving through the crowd as the sun shined 

A memory of the past, a vision for the future 

Center of the circle 

Four directions 

Truth and life 

Togetherness 

A place of being 

A place for teaching 

A place for healing 

Home, it's time to come home 

Drawn to follow the path that leads further into the trees 

Following 

The smell of rusted iron and blood begin to fill the air 

A reminder of the work that still needs to take place

Sage circles the iron, cable, and broken glass

A cleansing is needed 

We are needed 

Zhaaboomin 

Home is waiting 

Aaron McKay

Zhaaboomin - Paul Huntinghawk Memorial Arbour

Aaron McKay