Paingugivagit

I look for you in the slopes of hills you’ve never seen, on pebbled beaches that call your name, in the faces of strangers on the other side of the earth.

paingugivagit

The wind whispers your name and the waves lash your promises against the shoals. The smell of sea salt in the summer air haunts the shape of your hand in mine.

paingugivagit

The laurels and the fireweed spill their secrets at dusk and dawn. If you were here, would they whisper to you the same honey-suckle words they say to me?

paingugivagit

When the willows grow around my aching heart, I will find you in the dancers that colour the night sky. We share the same smatter of stars, but only I can see you in the spirits of the North.

paingugivagit. I miss you.

Grace Goudie is a poet of Inuk and Settler descent. Her home base is Newfoundland and Labrador, but you will currently find her studying at Pearson College on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Like many 21st-century writers, her poetry is inspired by people, place and identity. Her work is available digitally through Pearson Impressions and on Instagram (@our_wordsuwc).