Saskatchewan Poetry Magazine

Saskatchewan Poetry Magazine –

"Bloodline Echoes" by Taryn DeWalt

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September 15th, 2026

Saskatchewan Poetry Contest #1 – First Place

Bloodline Echoes

by Taryn DeWalt

I walk with a weight that I never quite chose,
But somehow it fits, like the thorn on a rose.
The pain and the beauty, they bloom just the same—
Two sides of a story that whisper my name.

Born of a mother whose roots ran so deep,
But stolen at birth in a silence that weeps.
They called it a scoop, but it cut like a knife,
Changed all her tomorrows, rewrote her whole life.

A child of two worlds, yet raised in just one,
Where brown met the white and the old ways were done.
She lived in between what was hers and what’s not,
And that wound in her spirit—I carry that spot.

The cycle keeps turning, the ink doesn’t dry,
Addiction’s old ghost still breathes in my sky.
But I am not broken, just born from a bend,
Where sorrow and strength somehow learn to be friends.

The roads we have traveled were twisted and wide,
But every wrong turn still brought us inside.
And though we ask “what if?” and cry out “how come?”
The truth is: we’re here—look how far we have come!.

If we change the way we look at things, they shift,
The burden becomes a surprising gift.
For in every scar is a whisper of grace,
A map to the soul and a glimpse of our place.

So I honor the roots that were hidden from view,
And the woman who bore me—both strong and both true.
She lived out a fate that was never her plan,
Yet raised me with hope in the heart of this land.

Yes, I’ve known the dark—its voice and its sting,
But it has taught me to dance when I can’t always sing.
For the night brings the stars and the shadows a guide,
And the light is more real with the dark by its side.

So don’t look away from the grief or the pain,
They’re not just the storm—they’re the seeds of the rain.
We grow from the ache, from the loss, from the range—
Cause' if we change the way we look at things, the things we look at... change.

About the Poet
Taryn DeWalt resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Taryn DeWalt's Artist Page.

This poem is also featured in Poetry World #16, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: Indigenous/First Nations, 60's Scoop, Perspective, Addictions

Previously published in Saskatchewan Poetry Magazine:
This is the first poem published.

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