I LOST MY TALK by Rita Joe COMM160.docx - I LOST MY TALK by...

I LOST MY TALK by Rita Joe
Chapter Introduction
The writings of Rita Joe, a Mi’kmaq, are about First Nations
people. She was born on a reservation in Whycocomagh, on
Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. At the age of 12, after
both her parents had died, she requested that she be
placed in an Indian residential school in Shubenacadie,
Nova Scotia. An acclaimed poet, Rita Joe published several
collections, including Lnu and Indians We’re Called (1991).
She became a member of the Order of Canada in 1990 and
was active in Aboriginal issues until her death in 2007.
This poem was written in 1989.
I lost my talk
The talk you took away.
When I was a little girl
At Shubenacadie school.
2. You snatched it away:
I speak like you
I think like you