Ogamas 2009 - Maeengan Linklater

Ogamas 2009

Why do I get hungover

when I'm surrounded

by Indigenous writers

Indigenous writers

who speak and write words

describing love, loss, passion

and the naughty position

of nocturnal activities

When I'm with Indigenous writers

my lung inflate with cigarette smoke

my liver (God bless its soul)

works overtime

down on the line

filtering whiskey, wine, and Sleeman's Honey Brown

When I'm hungover

I become and old Rolling Stones song

There's no sympathy for this devil

Where did I go wrong?

What did I do to you?

Were you trying to drink me

underneath the table

so I couldn't read tomorrow morning?

Last night

tequila shots

were locked and loaded

like shot gun shells

and blasted

with a 21 gun salute

We laughed over dirty jokes

on how Ojibwe men and women

are the greatest lovers in the world

until I got mad and stated,

'But, it's true.'

We made gossip

over who was sleeping whom

'Did you know, X and Y are fucking each other?'

'Really?'

'Yeah, I heard them the night before.'

And before the night was out

when the sun chased the moon

over the City of Brandon

We cried buckets of tears

lamenting the loss of our last girlfriend

or boyfriend

because we slept with their best friend

2 years ago

at the last

Ogamas Festival