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The one word I can use to desribe the poem "War" by Lee Maracle after reading through it is powerful. This poem is so powerful because it makes you feel some type of way after reading it. You can truly feel Lee's emotions and pain while reading this poem. The quotation that struck with me the most is the following: "Thunderous, rude earthquakes that split my spirit within...". This quotation truly made me feel emotional, as if I just wanted to take away all the pain away that she's dealing with. The poet is using nature to describe her pain within herself and how she truly feels about the on going war within herself. I found it great how she used the connection of nature and feelings to describe exactly how she was feeling. During the last couple of weeks, we have learned that there's a very important spiritual connection between Indigenous people and nature, which is why I also found it so fascinating that this connection was used. While reading the poem, the one question I had was how has she possibly gotten herself through so much pain?, but then I was quickly able to assume that writing poetry is possibly her escape. I know for myself that when I'm going through a rough time, writing out my feelings really helps me.
- Arielle Boshi

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After I read the poem, I proud of indigenous people to get back the right base of their art and poem. Also, this poem will awake indigenous people who are not aware of injustices that were made to them. This poem can remain in the mind from generation to generation especially for indigenous children. Add to that poem is the best way for telling history and truth for avoiding discrimination.
safoura niakan

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Lee was born in Vancouver to a Metis mother and Salish father. In the powerful poem, she explains her roots and how they have branched. Like many children that are 2nd generational settlers. Lee struggled with her identity and in her poem was made empathetic, and blunt. “In my body flows the blood of Gallic Bastille stormers and the soft, gentle ways of Salish/Cree womanhood”. Through her poem she gives a glimpse of who she is, an oral storyteller, just like the Metis. Her work is to show refusal to be fixed by the heteropatriarchy colonisers. “European thief; liar, bloodsucker. I deny you not. I fear you not. Your reality and mine no longer rankles me.” Maracle’s writing focuses on violence against indigenous women. The poem coincides with political advocacy, and the centrality of indigenous People being slaughtered and raped.” Can I deny a heritage blackened by the toil of billions, conceived in rape, plunder and butchery?”

-- Asma Javed

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After reading “war” by Lee Maracle I feel a lot of sadness in my heart. She has shown her pure feelings about the violence that the Indigenous people have experienced. Unfortunately, still they can experience more or less. In her poem, the connection that Indigenous people have with nature is clearly seen. The connection of Indigenous people with nature is a spiritual connection that may not be easy for many people to understand. She was also not afraid to use some words in her poetry and used those words easily. Such as “European thief, liar, bloodsucker or must stop the butchery, stop the slaughter.” Many poets do not dare to use such words. I wish these words could affect all human on the planet, and we did not witness a war, betrayal and lies in the world. I hope one day we will see that we all live together in peace.

Mahnaz Ahmadi Assalemi

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'War' is a powerful and beautiful poem. Once again, the power of the language is surprising. It would seem that when someone reads poems in a language other than their own, it should be challenging to understand them, but they do. So with the poem "War" I felt all the emotions of Markle, which she tried to convey to her work. They were anger and despair for the hardened history of their people, for all the difficulties they had to endure. This was a bold and direct appeal to the European invader, "European thief; liar, bloodsucker.
I deny you not. I fear you not. ". At the same time, she is proud of her people, their convictions, and their love for peace, earth, and philanthropy. Even though this helped the Europeans to destroy them, this remains the reason for their pride.

Leila B

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" there is a direct connection between violence against the earth and violence against women." Lee Maracle.
This quote specifically is something that speaks volumes in any aspect of the word mainly because it's true and I honestly believe that it's something that a lot of people don't want to believe in. Obviously, this poem is something that is very close to home for not only the poet but for anyone who has gone through something along the lines of what she wrote. My honest first thought of the poem was that Lee Maracle's writing was extremely moving and captivating. As I kept reading a learned more about not only myself but about what Indigenous peoples suffered throughout the years of time and it's something that nobody should've ever have gone through. It's very easy to sympathize and visualize what was going on and understand that it was extremely difficult. Lee Maracle's words were deep and soulful and you can feel the pain as you read.

-Courtney Sadler

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When lee marade said “European thief; liar, bloodsucker.I deny you not. I fear you not. Your reality and mine no longer rankles me.I am moved by my love for human life;by the firm conviction that all the world must stop the butchery, stop the slaughter.” it interpreted that there is something called good ,humanity and faith is in this world. Although Europeans brought terror to their nation, she prayed that people would stop killing each other and bring peace & love to humanity. Her faith inspired me to believe again in the so-called good. Her way of expressing her pain using land as a prop and how just a sliver of wine soothed a rude earthquake that wounded her heart shocked me. It is clear that she knows how to use her words to communicate everything she wants her audience to feel and understand. Lee Marade is a master at using words effectively.

Jason Wanniarachchi

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My first thoughts of the poem “War” were that Lee Maracle's imagery was very captivating. When she wrote, “Child of the earth-tear of west coast rain; dewdrop sparkling in, the crisp, clear sun of my home” I could feel how deeply connected she was to the land. When the author is talking about the wine grapes consoling her it was evident that she was describing a sense of escapism and self-medication. That part truly struck a chord because of the vulnerability and the transparency she displayed.  I think this poem starts with beautiful symbolism then becomes very somber and almost hopeless. Towards the end, there is a powerful awakening that was moving and uplifting. I think the title meant being at war with the colonizers but also being at war within due to all the trauma. There is still a fire and a fight despite all the pain and suffering. Maracle has such a love and faith in humanity as a whole and that in itself is touching.

Su Yusuf

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While I was reading the poem, I could feel how deeply Lee was hurt. Lee has suffered a lot  even though it was in the past the memories are stuck to her like scars. It's like a wound that just gets deeper and never heals. Even though Lee has deep wounds she is a fighter she does not give up! She will fight for her kind! "European thief; liar, bloodsucker. I deny you not. I fear you not." Said Lee. I think Lee is a very strong woman because even though she was deeply scarred she will still stand up and not be afraid and fight for herself! Even though we are scared we can still heal the wound by protecting it! One question I have is how does one be so brave? where do they get all this power? this strength? How can we be like her and fight when we are deeply hurt?

- Fatima Bangi

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When I was reading the poem, I was heartbroken and I could feel that she had pour her heart in that piece of work. War has always made people suffer especially women and children. The scar stays forever also they give strength to fight back. In the poem she mentioned that humanity should be prioritize regardless of caste, color, country or race. The world needs to realize that its high time for hate and war, it is time for equality, love, peace and respect. I liked the way how she used climates to describe her anger and rage towards European. Whatever the past is she wanted to get over that and create a new tomorrow for everyone who has suffered. It mesmerizes me how vocal she was in her poem and did not sugar coted anything. She wanted the world to know what has happened and still happening to their community.

Afrida Aziz

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In this poem, Lee Maracle powerfully described her struggles while growing up. We could feel her emotions through this poem. I was amazed how she used "Thunderous rude earthquakes, that split my spirit within. Tiny grapes wine console me." to let us know, how European settlers ruined the life and the nature of Indigenous peoples and she had to drink wine to console herself. Many Indigenous women were raped, plunder, butchered by European settlers. This is so sad to know how hard living a life became to Indigenous peoples because of the European settlers. But no matter what, I am glad to know that the poet didn't let her humanity go away. She fought to stop the slaughter and she wanted to re-write the history, winning over the settlers or those who betrayed themselves. Sometimes, we should use our good and bad sides for the better and that's exactly what she did.

- Monika Adhikari

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This poem felt like a story of Maracle's life, and it left me intrigued. In this poem, Maracle expressed how difficult life was for her growing up. The impacts of the Canadian government's racist policies have left Indigenous communities in ruins, and she is among those affected. Each stanza is emotionally gripping and conveys a tumultuous image that highlights Maracle's internal struggles. In fact, the poem presents bleak moments in Maracle's life from its 2nd to 6th stanzas. At one point, Maracle spiralled into alcoholism, which is expressed in the stanza, "thunderous, rude earthquakes that split my spirit within… tiny grapes of wine console me". Here, her mental health was at its lowest point, and she used alcohol to drown her sorrows. It is a gut-wrenching moment that demonstrates the long-term effects of systemic racism.

Despite her struggles, Maracle has developed a resolve that keeps her alive and motivated. She recognizes the errors of colonial institutions and is determined to see their work go undone. This belief also fuels her yearning for a better world. This is exemplified in the stanza "I am moved by my love for human life; by the firm conviction that all the world must stop the butchery, stop the slaughter", which emphasizes Maracle's devotion to forging a world free of injustice, poverty, corruption, and violence. Furthermore, it is not just her that faces this challenge, but everyone as well. Everyone who lives in a country reviled for crimes against humanity can learn about these events. Learning about your country's misdeeds can stir a discourse that challenges popular opinion of that country. It forces a re-examination that spotlights negative aspects that influenced how that country conducts social politics. It is through this process where systematic change is possible.

- William Le

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The one word I can use to desribe the poem "War" by Lee Maracle after reading through it is powerful. This poem is so powerful because it makes you feel some type of way after reading it. You can truly feel Lee's emotions and pain while reading this poem. The quotation that struck with me the most is the following: "Thunderous, rude earthquakes that split my spirit within...". This quotation truly made me feel emotional, as if I just wanted to take away all the pain away that she's dealing with. The poet is using nature to describe her pain within herself and how she truly feels about the on going war within herself. I found it great how she used the connection of nature and feelings to describe exactly how she was feeling. During the last couple of weeks, we have learned that there's a very important spiritual connection between Indigenous people and nature, which is why I also found it so fascinating that this connection was used. While reading the poem, the one question I had was how has she possibly gotten herself through so much pain?, but then I was quickly able to assume that writing poetry is possibly her escape. I know for myself that when I'm going through a rough time, writing out my feelings really helps me.
- Arielle Boshi

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This poem tells how a woman was being abused on her homeland by their invaders. It recounts all the sufferings, injustices, abuses inflicted to them by European invaders. How they lost their right to control and govern their own land and how the supremacy of their invaders over them. The Indigenous peoples lost their culture, identities, and the worst part, they were made to bow down to their invaders. That even to this present world, leaves a deep wound and scars to the Indigenous peoples. How can history forget all these crimes of humanity that being done and committed by their colonizers? I am in awe and saddened by suffering and abuses committed by the European invaders towards the Indigenous people of Canada. They do not deserve ill treatment they went through but again it showed, and history can not deny the fact, that even before racial discrimination was and still present in this modern world that we live in. Nobody deserves to be treated like a dirt because of the skin or ethnicity that they have. Equality should be observed among all men. We should not let history repeat itself, we should treat the Indigenous peoples the way we want to be treated. Most importantly, we should give them the right to be heard.
-Katherine Guzman

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The poet has described her pain in such a way that one can actually feel her sufferings and how she managed of getting over all the difficulties. She gave prime importance to humanity. Regardless of caste, creed, color or country, we all are humans. The line called "Your reality and mine no longer rankles me" clearly explains how she wants to overcome the phase of discrimination and give everybody a message of equality. She has been suffered due to her being an European. Interestingly, the poet has also used metaphor between her life causes and natural calamities i.e. thunder and rude earthquakes. She totally disagree to accept those crime came in heredity which has been committed by the people in the past. It makes her feel disgustful. At the end, she says that she has moved from those scars and now she wants to move on with her vision by leaving her past behind. I am totally struck with the way she has expressed her feelings through this poem and It just touched the bottom of my heart.

-Shruti Bhavsar

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After reading the poem by Lee Maracle my first thoughts were  how tragic it must of been for her going through what she’s been through. She uses words such as “rude earthquakes that split my spirit within” this shows readers that he spirit has be shattered from what has happened to her. What struck me the most is how she uses nature to show the pain she is feeling. My impressions of the poem i felt gadded and hurt for her like i wish I could take away her pain and all she has be through. The title is very suiting for this poem because not only was she at war and battle with europeans as seen whence says “European thief; liar, bloodsucker” but she is also at war with her self in trying to protect her home, her land. This is seen when she says “In the veins, that fight to root themselves in the wondrous breadth of my homeland”.  Lee shows great strength and power at the end of the poem when she says “I am moved by my scars, by my own filth to re-write history with my body to shed the blood of those who betray themselves”. This is showing that she is here to fight for herself and family.

-Alessia Palozzi

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Upon reading the poem, I felt that Lee Maracle poured her emotions into words explaining the violence she and all Indigenous people experienced through time and still today.  As she transitioned from her beautiful memory of “child of the earth-tear of west coast rain; dewdrop sparkling in the crisp, clear sun of my home” to the reality of her heritage being “blackened by the toil of billions, conceived in rape, plunder, butchery.” I felt despair; these lines define the title of the poem. When she writes that fighting for the right is in the roots of her homeland, she makes me remember what all the violence and suffering meant. It shaped the history of the Indigenous people, and we must not let fear stop us from fighting the war of humanity.

In this poem, what struck me the most is how the author reveals how nature consoles her pain. For Indigenous people, the connection they have with the earth, nature, and the land is more than just physical; it is spiritual. A spiritual relationship that encompasses their culture, language, and resources that they share is never just for one. This is a learning lesson for the rest of the world as we had started this war so long ago and still continue it—this war in which we have butchered and slaughtered many souls. Nevertheless, we can make a turn towards change, fighting for the rights of humanity.

- Iqra Naeem

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Reading through this poem, I'm immediately drawn in by Lee Maracle's internal struggles to find an identity for herself. "Thunderous, rude earthquakes that split my spirit within" is such a powerful line that illustrates the stirring in her heart. Maracle states the image that she sees of herself; a soft and gentle woman belonging to the Salish/Cree. As she analyzes herself, she very graphically describes a portion of her that comes from a very dark place. I think it is very compelling to see her immediately accept that this is a part of who she is, and use her painful history to work towards a greater future. She states "I am moved by my scars, by my own filth to re-write history" and as I read this, I am inspired to see her embrace the worst parts of herself and refuse to let these things restrain her from using them for anything other meaningful. As two sides of Lee continuously tug on both sides, I'm very pleased to read about her ability to use every piece of her; both good or bad, for the better.

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As I read through the poem, I seem to have noticed that every stanza becomes more violent and gory. Lee Maracle is describing in full detail what "war" seems to be in her eyes, hence the title and the last line of the last stanza "my vision". What struck me the most was how most situations were described by the use of nature. So far I've learned that nature plays an important role in stories/readings in this course. It's like the poet wants us to envision the disaster through nature. She herself has battled through her own type of "war" and I feel that us individuals have been through some kind of conflict that feels like a battle as well as the world. To others it may seem as though we're at peace but we really aren't. There are many other things going on in the world that are conflicted we just seem to let it slide and pretend like it isn't that serious. My question, which may come out rhetorical because we may never know is, when will the world ever be at peace?