Can I be honest?
I don't like the colour orange.
Sure, there are places it can spark joy
In dancing flames
In leaves turned to brilliant fiery hues
during the cooling nights of autumn
In the happiness of marigolds
But in clothing or decorating?
Nope, I just don't get it.
Maybe it's growing up in the seventies
And I can't help but associate orange
with uncomfortable brown polyester pants
And orange shirts in particular?
Let's continue with the honesty here
I'm not small. I'm not thin.
I never have been.
And wearing an orange shirt
makes me feel like a giant pumpkin
despite years of work
learning to love the body
that is mine,
childhood taunts still ring in my ears
Yes, there are options
An orange shirt pin
An orange accessory
to ease my inherent discomfort
in wearing an orange shirt
But today is not about me.
Today is a reminder of the harm done
Today is for honouring those who survived
and remembering those who did not.
I have the choice to wear what I choose
A choice that was taken away from Phyllis
And so I put aside my discomfort
I choose to listen
I choose to learn
I choose to be open to new ways
of seeing and understanding the world
I choose not to look away from the harm done
and the ways the harm continues to be perpetuated
I choose to recognize how I benefit
I choose to consider how I can walk
more gently on this land that
my ancestors settled on without invitation
I choose to be grateful for the stewardship
of the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee
on whose lands I was raised and grew to adulthood
oblivious of the history right around me
and of the lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples on whose lands
I now live, work, play and write as my whole self
Today I choose to wear an Orange Shirt
Today is Orange Shirt Day. If you’re not familiar with Orange Shirt Day, please visits OrangeShirtDay.org and read Phyllis Webstad’s story.
Yes, the federal government has chosen to call it the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, but that’s not how the day started. For thoughts on that change, I’d recomend reading this thread from @OnaagoshinAnang on Twitter.
I’m going to spend much of my day reading the memoir Apocalypse Child by Carly Bulter and listening to the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund’s A Day to Listen. When I pause for a bit to scroll on social media, I will be seeking to amplify Indigenous voices, because those are the stories we need to hear.
And even though I’m going to be at home for much of the day, I will be wearing my Orange Shirt.
Poeming Out 