n the begining was the Word - now it's poetry
By Paul Hiebert
MegaphoneMagazine.com
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Originally from the Bigstone Cree Nation of Calling Lake, Steven Cardinal isn't surprised that he grew up to be a drug-addicted deviant.
Raised in alcoholic homes, juvenile detention centers and federal prisons, he didn't know any other way of living. The big surprise in Cardinal's life is that now, at age 33, he's clean and sober.
It's such a drastic change from his younger years that at times he is tempted to find a way back into the penitentiary system, back to a place where he feels most at home.
For Cardinal, it took the combination of an unconscious trip to a hospital emergency room after a machete attack and a desperate negotiation with God to end the way of life that nearly killed him. He promised that he would never again use drugs if he survived the incident, and to this day Cardinal has upheld his part of the bargain.
Today, Cardinal is committed to writing. He works in prose, poetry, fiction and even lyrical formats, writing songs for his newly formed hip-hop group "1 Nation".
When describing what inspires him, he states, "As brilliant and beautiful as the world is, there is a certain degree of ugliness connected with it. Though sometimes lacking love and compassion, our world and all within are my muse."
Undisputed
Like all life is to death, still our fates collide
Our love is conducive to hate.
Although, I willingly wear the heavy crown
of an insignificant love I must forsake.
My desire confers no distinction,
She blows me over like a savage Tornado,
of wretched, emotional incompatibility.
As she attempts to break me like a stallion,
Born much too wild for the reigns, I remain untamed,
Lingering like an afterglow and a long passionate kiss
Still I perform for her skillfully,
With a steady rhythm, I eagerly break my back,
To become the Tsunami of her love,
In the midst of my unfurling hate,
My love and our undying passion,
Maybe naïve, still I strive to be the best she's ever had.
I serenade her as I bear the crown of thorns,
As I enthusiastically bestow upon her
diamonds, rocks, and a shiny pearl necklace.
anything, for my queen of nightclubs.
She performs erotically, for those that come to watch
her erotic dance.
With my triple, triple, double, single rum and cokes
(Just keep them coming baby)
This bar stool remains my throne,
I am known as the undisputed...
King of broken hearts,
While waiting for my Queen of broken homes,
As she continues to dance, her erotic dance.
To the Moon (4 Jeannie)
My name is Jeannie, and I am a child of trauma,
Forever trapped by the memories of my life's drama.
My Mother Irene and my Father Clark,
For 13 years, I was kept me chained and caged in the dark.
I lived my entire life in a darkened room,
In a chicken wire cage, I am never spoken to.
My parents strap me to a potty during the day,
When it becomes dark, it is back to the cage.
I am unable to speak, I have no vocabulary,
I was born into this life, it wasn't voluntary.
I am a 13-year-old girl stuck in a 6-year-old mind,
This world is cruel, but this world is mine.
13 years of tragic, bitter and lonely isolation,
I am a feral child of God's creation.
I know that the lord will send someone to find me soon
Until then I will remain in this darkened room.
As I rock back and forth, over and over I repeat to the moon...
Please God, send someone to find me soon,
Please God, send someone to find me soon,
Please God, send someone to find me soon,
Please God, send someone to find me soon,
Please God, send someone to find me soon...
10 August 2009 — Return to cover.
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