Building a Cabin

Building a Cabin


In the cool, moist forest soil
I dig with pick and shovel,
cutting roots and prying rocks.

Small animals dig burrows.
Birds build nests in tree branches.
I dig for a foundation.

In footsteps of my forebears
I pour footings and lay beams
for a small, rustic cabin.

I'm on Birch Island, former
hunting ground for several
native tribes who summered here.

I'm always on the lookout
for rare pottery fragments
from past civilizations.

Perhaps, birdstones from the
Point Peninsula People
from two thousand years ago.1

Or, more recently, from the
Rideau Lakes Mississauga
of the Ojibwa nation. 2

My presence here may appear
as an act of aggression --
violence against nature.

However, nature is a
violent place; home of both
the hunter and the hunted.

I have seen spirit hunters,
long haired natives stalking prey
then vanishing in the night.

The previous owners were
a nice, elderly couple.
Their presence still very strong.

Their spirits overwhelm me
and ask that I take care
of the property they loved.

Thomas Aquinas stated
Flora and fauna have souls,3
therefore, I must protect them.

Among the whispering pines,
animals, plants and spirits,
I accept guardianship.

Gradually, walls are raised,
the roof is covered and sealed --
I am snug in my cabin.

Footnotes
1  "In the Initial Woodland period (700 BC - 1000 AD), the Point Peninsula culture was active in the Rideau Corridor. Pottery shards from this era have been discovered on Birch Island in Sand Lake." (Hub of the Rideau, by Susan Warren, page 3.)
2  Ibid, page 4.
3  Thomistic Philosophy Page: http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/soul.html