Gothic stone towers,
guardians of law and peace,
oversee river,
Symbols of a young nation,
Memories of my home town.
∼
Canada’s seat of government is in Ottawa where the parliament buildings are an iconic sight. Two distinctive features are the Peace Tower, with carillon bells that chime the hours, and the round dome of the Parliamentary Library. The Ottawa River flowing below was once a major timber trade route.
I recently wrote about my memories of the Rideau Canal. Then, when Ronovan’s weekly haiku prompt included the word ‘river’, my mind went to the main river of my life: the Ottawa River. My first 18 years were in Ottawa, minutes away from the river. I remember digging up clay from its banks, cycling beside it, and many visits to an old boat club house. My father was drawn to water, having served in the merchant navy. So he enjoyed boating and took his family out for many rides. There the romance dwindles. In those days there was an active paper mill. Log rafts and loose logs bobbed in the water—and a strong unpleasant industrial smell prevailed.
This week I attempted a tanka instead of a haiku for Ronovan’s Challenge #112. The prompt words are ‘river’ and ‘stone’. Syllable counts for a tanka are: 5-7-5-7-7.
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Ontheland 
Lovely Tanka. I hope you’ll join in my upcoming Renga, Janice.
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I’ve never tried a Renga but would like to join in. Thanks for letting me know .. I’ll watch out for it.
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I’ll be more alert. If you haven’t read about Renga, I did a post with a link to a great site.
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I found your post! Thank you 🙂
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My pleasure.
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Lovely haiku. I saw the word Tanka and got carried away ☺
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I was right, tanka. Sheesh. Need coffee.
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Près de chez nous ça. Canal Rideau ou rivière des Outaouais?
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I am not quite sure what you asked but I’ll say a few related things. The Ottawa river runs from Ottawa to Montreal, flowing into the St Lawrence River. My father once drove us in our small motor boat down the river to the west end of Montreal–to Sainte Anne de Bellevue. The waves were quite high near the St Lawrence River!
I enjoyed the Rideau Canal most when I lived in Ottawa. Now I live near Kingston which is at the south end of the Rideau Waterway. I hope to visit some of the locks this Fall.
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Ah! it’s clear. Thank you Marie.
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Bienvenue 🙂
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Great Tanka Janice, and at the moment I like the sound of your government very much.
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Such exquisite, resplendent examples of beauty; photo and your poetic creation.
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Thank you 🙂
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Beautiful Tanka. That building is gorgeous, it looks like a castle. It was a treat to read about your memories living in Ottawa.
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Thank you:) yes they do look like castles… I read that the style is ‘gothic revival’… I think I took them for granted as a child but now I see them with a touch of amazement…they are so loaded with history
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As I get older I see things with much more appreciation. I guess that’s just the way it is.
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