Essential Question

1- What can the poem teach us about the value of land and place?

2- What does the poem say about the value of the natural world?

*** Provide the supporting explanation and examples from the poem for your comments.

Paul Lake Evening

By Richard Wagamese

 

loon call wobbles over wind 

eased through the gap between mountains 

the lake set down aglitter 

like a bowl of quartz winking 

in the last frail light of sun 

pushing colours around the sky 

 

to sit here is to see this country 

the way a blind man sees 

the feeling of it all 

pushed up hard against you 

insistent as a child's hand 

tugging at your sleeve 

 

the Old Ones say  

that everything is energy 

and we're part of it 

whether we know it or not 

 

in the sky are pieces of me 

 

we are the grass  

alive with dancing 

we are the stone 

vigilant and strong 

we are the birds 

ancient with singing 

 

the flesh of us 

hand in hand, you and I 

the whole wide world 

 

1- The author emphasized the beauty and worth of land and place by using phrases that describe how priceless and irreplaceable they are. In the lines "the lake set down aglitter 

like a bowl of quartz winking," the author used simile in describing the precious value of lake - that is, comparable to elegant stones like quartz. Another phrase is "to sit here is to see this country 

the way a blind man sees." Figuratively, it may mean that although a blind man cannot see literal beauty with his eyes, he can see value and love with his heart. Our irreplaceable land and place must not only be cherished and nurtured because of its physical elegance alone; but also because of its priceless value to our world.

2- The poem emphasizes that we, the people, and the natural world itself are one and connected. In the lines "the Old Ones say  

that everything is energy, and we're part of it, whether we know it or not, in the sky are pieces of me," the poem wants us to see how our lives intertwine with the world we have. This idea is furthered by the succeeding lines in the poem: "we are the grass, alive with dancing; we are the stone, vigilant and strong; we are the birds, ancient with singing." Thus, we are taught that the value of the natural world should not be far from the way we value ourselves and loved ones. Since nature and people are one, as the poem emphasized, our actions toward other people and our natural world are connected and affects each other - be it positively or negatively.