Month of the Artist

2025 Erratic Poetry Contest

• First place: “50.7037° N, 114.0771° W” by Christine Victor-Horner

  She sits as she always has
  counting the phases of the moon,
  ticking the centuries on her well-worn face
  of this ice age or that ice age.

  An erratic
  waiting until they came and gave her
  a part, a position,
  a name—Okatok.

  Legends of tricksters tugged at her lips while
  a steady beat thrummed at her feet.
  The story of her, this place, our land,
  told and told and told.

  The chinook winds teemed,
  softening her edges, rounding her spine.
  Stooping, she carries the stories of the
  First Peoples—and those that came after.
  Permanence on the wind-swept prairie.

  By Christine Victor-Horner

• Second place: “Okotoks The moving stone” by Lorraine Boerchers

  As I walk towards you
  A soft, cooling breeze
  Refreshes me
  The grasses sway, making a quiet chaffing sound
  You look like you were pushed
  Up through the earth
  And then split apart
  Rugged and angular
  Cracks and crevices
  Give you character
  In contrast to your surroundings
  Pure prairie, not a tree in sight

  
  How did you get here
  Geologists say a glacier dragged you
  All the way from Jasper
  Siksika tells us at the beginning of time
  Napi gifted you his buffalo robe
  As it became colder he wanted it back
  When you refused
  Napi snuck up and grabbed it
  You chased him, rolling after him
  Until you came to rest here
  How you got here
  Only you know

  
  Wild roses grow beneath your overhangs
  And amongst the debris field
  Where you have split apart
  Grasses have found a way to grow
  As I follow the path that encircles you
  I am amazed by your sheer mass
  By the rocks balancing on ledges
  Please don’t tumble down now
  In your fissures and protrusions
  Did people find refuge there

  
  You have stood here for centuries
  People have climbed you
  Painted with red ochre on you
  You have witnessed ancient ceremonies
  Tools were created from the quartzite cobble
  You left in your trail
  You were a landmark to the ancient ones
  Safe crossing of Sheep River here

  
  You are still a landmark
  Admired and protected
  You continue to awe
  The past is the present
  In the faded drawings on you
  The red ochre worn away by the sun and wind
  Their stories remain a mystery
  Buried with our ancestors

  By Lorraine Boerchers

• Third place: “Sacred Sentinels” by Marlene Wilke

  Uprooted by a landslide 
  From their home within the mountains 
  Transported on icy glaciers 
  To an unfamiliar place 
  Scattered randomly by fate 

  Weather worn and weary 
  Out of place of another time 
  These ancient wandering giants 
  Whisper secrets past and present 
  To those who choose to hear

  Proud and noble quartzite boulders 
  Layered cloaked in earth’s own colours 
  Sacred sentinels stand firmly rooted 
  Near oohkotok forever home

  By Marlene Wilke