I am the…
Nil yaq wocosen (I am the wind)
pesni yali yai yut kcikuk (meandering through the woods)
Nil yaq mip (I am a leaf)
pesni yali mill ahmi (drifting downward to the ground)
Nil yaq mahtogess (I am a rabbit)
yali yut mill doq qi (bounding playfully through the woods)
Nil yaq wastewiz (I am a snowflake)
tan tapu tama tatali benehqi (I can fall anywhere)
Nil yaq Dookiz (I am a mouse)
Dasahqui yali kwaskwi wasteq (running across the top of the snow)
Nil yaq miku (I am a squirrel)
etoli biza bagie (crawling inside)
welihpatek (to the warmth)
Nil yaq muin (I am a bear)
Atotkwassi puniw (sleeping soundly through the winter)
~ Roger Paul
I Didn’t Know…
Maten ncicihtenewipon (I didn’t know)
That the students I once had
had grown so much. They have matured and understood so
Much and can use what they were taught.
Maten ncicihtunewipon (I didn’t know)
That the descendants of my own family are so strong and wise.
They are so much more intelligent and aware of life’s journeys and seem to have a good outlook on the world around them so much earlier than my generation did.
Maten ncicihtunewipon (I didn’t know)
That skicinowi wasirok still had the ability to come together with people they have never met before and create such a wonderful community and create something beautiful from something that had not been there before. [/indent]
Maten ncicihtunewipon (I didn’t know)
That those that surround me were young students who still play and have youthful fun and games. Although I can only see their ancestors within them, and their spirits are guided by the wise ones.
Tokec ncicihtan (Now I know)
That is the future of our people, and their culture is in safe and capable hands.
-Roger Paul
Night Time Winter Walk
Atutci tkeyik, abeq ausaste wolmomqak
It is so cold, although it’s almost as though it is comforting.
Nali tahas aly psite yuktak na keti ckuyatit
I am so happy to have this whole group with me tonight.
Psi-te wen litahus eci wihqaceyik yut,
They are all so carefree and just having fun.
Mate wen kcicihtowen atoci sanaqahk
Yet they don’t realize just how easily it can become deadly.
Psite wen kis mace witapehtuwak
All of the individual people are now becoming a group
Naka wallessa ally woli sankewi taha al titit
And it is so good to see that they are forming a careful trust for one another
Bal takatol kisi nekauitutit elmi mace kihtit
I only hope that they can learn lessons here that they can carry forward with them.
-Roger Paul
The Author
Roger Paul was born on the Motahkomikuk Indian reservation near Princeton, Maine. He grew up speaking both Passamaquoddy and Maliseet language and began learning English around the age of five. He holds a BA in Sociology from UMaine Presque Isle and a Masters in Linquistics from MIT.
Roger has dedicated himself to teaching our language to all who want to learn more about Waponahki Peoples of Turtle Island. He worked with the Wabanaki Writers Project, as well as the Aroostook Band of MicMacs, Houlton Band of Maliseets, Tobique First Nation and as an adjunct at UMaine Orono, as well as co-founding the Passamaquoddy Language Courses at the University of Southern Maine. Through his teaching and consulting work, Roger highlights the vital role of Waponahki Peoples in both Canadian and Maine communities where we are ever-present. DV 2.0 is pleased to share his writing in our new issue.
