The Canuck Maid

Word Count: 55
Line Count: 12

The Canuck Maid

Johnny, come west,
the maple leaf needs your service.
Bring your best
there is no time to be nervous.

Johnny, come east,
the maple leaf needs your service.
Quick without cease,
you're so willing to serve us.

Johnny, come away,
there's no help for your shock.
Justin made a way,
MAID to end your complaints.

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An Apology of a Poem (In the old sense of the word)

         I had thought to make a separate item for this brief essay of my own work, however, deemed it more fitting at the bottom of poetic endeavour. If you enjoyed my poem, thank you. If you understood my meaning, this essay is a continuation of that in more detail without illusions others have found difficult to penetrate. An apology in the old sense of the word means to give a defense and explanation, which is what I intend to do here. I am not sorry for what I have written.

         Every once in a while I am reminded that I am Canadian on a website mainly occupied by Americans: from the difference in spelling certain words to the use of Fahrenheit over Celsius for temperatures outside of cooking. This poem has turned into one of those times where the difference in our political landscapes has been highlighted to me. I cannot blame anyone foreign to Canada for not keeping up with domestic issues in Canada when your own country's zeitgeist is a more pressing concern for your life. And this poem does rely on the moment we are experiencing in Canada.

         The characters at play in the poem are Johnny and Justin. Justin Trudeau is our prime minister and leader of the Liberals at the time of this writing. Johnny Canuk is the personification of the nation the way Uncle Sam is for America and there was even a run of comics based on the character that cast him in a Captain America role for Canadian readers. Here I am using Johnny to represent the Canadian veterans of our military who have served and been neglected in a pattern that has sadly happened too many times in too many countries.

         MAID stands for Medical Assistance In Dying. This program was introduced under Trudeau and has been expanding to more and more people ever since. At the time of writing the poem, a news report exploded onto the headlines that a veteran in a wheelchair who was trying to get a chairlift for her house was asked if she had considered using MAID by our government services.

         The sentiment in Canada among the patriotic is that Trudeau, and those cut from the same cloth, would rather you die to save costs and call it an act of compassion. Here I was going to put a long tirade, but I will spare you the tangent.