The trees grew thick and tall around
The sheltered shoreline of the cove
Before ancestors settled there
Who in their need to grow and build
Cut down the trees; hauled out the stumps
And chased the forest up the hills
Along this stretch of shore

Where spruce and fir and juniper
Once stood, they planted gardens where
Potatoes grew, to nourish them
Through winters isolating them
Unto their cove and country trails
Until the spring returned once more
Along this stretch of shore

Now spruce and fir and juniper
Are standing where potatoes grew
Just remnants of the gardens seen
In mossy headlands marking place
Among the trees to indicate
That people had once labored here
Along this stretch of shore


Wayne Taylor