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Two Poems: Spruce to Cedar

“I was struck with the power of these poems,” says Louise B. Halfe – Sky Dancer of debut poet Lasänmą’s Spruce to Cedar (Brick Books) and we couldn’t agree more.

In the collection, the poet reflects on growing up Indigenous and the ongoing work of reconnecting with culture, language, and self. Moving between English, Southern Tutchone, and Dene, the speaker longs for childhood while imagining what healing and possibility might look like ahead.

Read two poems from the collection, below.

The cover of Spruce to Cedar by Lasänmą

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Two Poems from Spruce to Cedar
by Lasänmą



sparkle in my eyes when I find the perfect jean jacket denim stitched with February skies, embedded with chainsaw gas and wood dust pride in my heart, red AC/DC logo branded on chest cotton grey like the Alaska Hwy work trucks with bloated speakers fly past, leaving electric guitar solos echoing in the treeline nostalgic ears pricked, an old rusted truck gurgles down the street, exhaust clouds like frosty December mornings, radio blabbing weather reports — Whitehorse, Teslin, Atlin, Haines Junction, and the Kluane Lake region … cigarette cravings, second-hand, desperately breathing in polluted air — claiming I don’t have a problem afterwards bangs curling over my forehead just like yours used to, not that long ago.

christmas dinner prayer near the campfire four generations of women reunited spruce brush nestled atop snow we huddle close the sun setting behind the Dehcho i hold a bundle of tobacco in hand all my love etched into skin they’re praying to god & i’m praying to Ä́tà i’ve been lost since he left but i see him everywhere i ask for guidance i tell him i miss him & i wish he was here i sprinkle tobacco into the fire & i linger behind while distant family go inside to eat i stare into the flames & allow tears to fall onto snow & spruce needles

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A photo of Lasänmą. She is a woman with long dark hair and bangs. She is wearing glasses and a black sweater.

Lasänmą (she/her) was raised in Haines Junction, Yukon and is a member of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation. Her English name is Mariah MacDonald, and she is a part of the Wolf Clan. Mariah lived in Haines Junction and Whitehorse before moving to Vancouver at the age of twenty-one, where she studied at the University of British Columbia (located on the unceded Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations). Spruce to Cedar is Lasänmą’s first published work as an author.

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To purchase a copy of Spruce to Cedar from us or your favourite indie bookstore, click here.

For more from Two Poems, click here.

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