Wilson

Oh Canada

This is what I think of on Canada Day.
These are the symbols that I think display
What it means to live life in a Canadian way.

The Canadian Lumberjack chopping down trees
But never defiling our fine maple leaf.

The mounted police, a symbol so grand,

Sworn to protect this beautiful land.

Our writers and artists are among the world’s best
While our scientists too, are up to the test.

We live in our igloos, content hunting seal.

Making snowshoes and spears for earning our meal.
Our whale blubber tastes a little bit wrong,

But our beer is not weak and our coffee is strong,
We’re home to great creatures like Canadian geese,
The loon and the beaver and magnificent meese.
We've rainforests, prairies and deserts so hot,

We’ve beaches and tundras where it snows quite a lot.

We'll bore you to death with a trip through the prairies
Then waste all your money on the BC Fast Ferries.

Or visit Toronto, our capital city,

Where there’s lots of tall buildings and the girls are all pretty.
But what’s that you say?

Ottawa’s what!?

Then Torontonian people should keep their mouths shut.

But enough of this drivel, let’s go further east.

Where to the tune of the fiddle we’ll have us a feast,

On fish and then lobster, then lobster again,

Then a little more fish, then lobster... again.

Then it’s off to the territories, where it’s cold as you know,
And we'll learn not to eat that darn yellow snow.

We’re America’s bitch and to them we are bound,

But in 18 and 12 we knocked them around.

We remain loyal subjects to our dignified queen,

Though she’s not often heard and quite rarely seen.

We govern ourselves yet we respect her the same,

Thus our currency’s covered with her face and her name.
We share this great place with our First Nation friends,
Where our ancestors fought, we seek to amend.

14 | OtherPress

May 2004

Now what was I saying? Ah forget about it.

But who hates Quebec for trying to split?

But I’m joking around, I’m a kidder, I jest,

Because I think we all know that our country’s the best.

We’re the best in the world at any ice sport.

Our players know pressure, they'll not come up short.
Be it hockey or skating or the bobsled so fast,

Or that crazy sport luge, or our great skiing cast.

Ice fishing’s fun, snowboarding too,

Sledding is also a neat thing to do.

We’re renowned through the world for our peaceful kind ways.
And our beautiful landscape is worthy of praise.

It’s a part of our heritage the commercials would say,

To be caring and loving is the Canadian way.

We're friendly and open with more freedom than most,
We accept any culture and that’s not just a boast.
Cause we love mixing cultures and sharing our dreams,
Together we’re one of the world’s greatest teams.

So from me, for the people of this wonderful place,
Thank you Oh Canada for possessing such grace.

- Darren Paterson