WE ARE MORE

Some of you may have missed this poem at the opening ceremony for the 2010 Olympics, I thought I would share some of Shane Koyczan's words with you. ( FYI - He starting writing as a means of coping with relentless bullies.)

"Define Canada
You might say the home of the Rocket
Or the Great One
Who inspired little No.9's and little No.99's
But we're more that just hockey and fishing lines
Off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
And some say what defines us
Is something as simple as "please" and "thank you"
And as for "you're welcome," well, we say that, too
But we are more than genteel or civilized
We are an idea in the process of being realized
We are young, we are cultures strung together then
woven into a tapestry
And the design is what makes us more than the sum
totals of our history
We are an experiment going right for a change
With influences that range from A to Zed
And yes, we say "Zed" instead of "Zee"
We are the brightness of Chinatown and the laughter of
Little Italy
We dream so big that there are those
Who would call our ambition an industry
We reforest what we clear
Because we believe in generations beyond our own
Knowing now that so many of us
Have grown past what we used to be
We can stand here today
Filled with all the hope people have
When they say things like "someday"
Because we are more
Than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
More than hills to ski
Or country ponds to skate
We are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can't
wait
We are the first-rate greasy spoon diners and healthy living
cafes
A country that is all the ways you choose to live
A nation that can give you variety
Because we are choices
We are millions upon millions of voices
Shouting, keep exploring
We are more
We are the surprise the world has in store for you, it's
true
Canada is the "what" in "What's new"
So don't let your luggage define your travels
Each life unravels differently
And experiences are what make up
The colors of our tapestry
We are the true North
Strong and free
And what's more
Is that we didn't just say it
We made it be."

Robyn Kichko
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, AB, Canada