Whitehorse 2020!

I recently discovered this poem lying in an old cardboard box along with a scribbled note dated November 16th 1986 that said: “A bit of tripe I was persuaded, god knows why, to conjure.”

I was asked to write a poem about how Whitehorse might have changed by the year 2020. I'm not sure why the year 2020 was targeted or who asked me to write it. Possibly the City of Whitehorse.
  

A few of my poems were also included in a time capsule buried beneath Main Street Whitehorse Yukon to be unearthed as part of the 100th-anniversary celebrations of the City of Whitehorse in the year 2050.  This poem was included in the capsule.

Whitehorse 2020 – ©PJ Yukon November 16^th 1986

I dreamed a dream of Whitehorse

One long dark winter’s night

And the year was 2020

And the town was quite a sight!

Now a million strong the city was

With her history on display

A hustling bustling mecca

Where the world had come to play

And the first native sons of the Kwanlin Dun

Stood tall as they governed their own

And they bade me to come to their place in the sun

In the Land of the Wolf and Crow

Then I saw a sign that was big as you see ‘em

On top of the YTG

Boasting ‘Whitehorse World-Class Wax Museum’

And “Here Burns Sam McGee”

A massive dredge from the goldrush days

Overshadowed a street painted gold

And the White Pass train was a-rollin’ again

Giving rides to the young and old

The Transport Museum arose full-blown

Inside sailed the ‘Yukon Lou’

And the college had grown to a size so unknown

They’d renamed it “The Yukon U.”

The commuters now sped via motorized sled

Which far neath the city would whisk ‘em

Straight home in a flash for a small bit of cash

On the Whitehorse Ice-Tube subway system

All sorts of Whitehorsians had grossed mega-fortunes

Through enterprise, guts, and free-trade

All the world wanted portions and offered consortiums

For anything stamped ‘Yukon Made’

Here the people reside in good cheer undenied

For they work just six months of the year

The mosquitoes have died of some de-secticide

So the folks flock outdoors without fear

On the new little roof of the government place

Sits a raven with mukluks and toque on

And a sign at the base of this wee edifice

Says “The Province of The Yukon”

Whatever I saw gave a feeling of awe

For a people so strong and alive

As my dream faded off I remembered the law

That only the strong shall survive

Then I heaved a sigh as the end of that nigh

Left me feeling quite sentimently

And the sun rose high as I bade goodbye

To Whitehorse 2020

©PJ Yukon November 16^th 1986

*UPDATE: Apparently I did get a few things right:

1. In 1990 the Umbrella Final Agreement was signed and in 1992 Yukon First Nations self-government negotiations concluded.

2. It was recently announced that The Yukon University Act had officially passed Third Reading. Once it receives assent the Act will set the legal framework for a university in Yukon — Canada's first university north of 60.

3. The White Pass & Yukon Route railway ceased operations in 1984 when the Cyprus Anvil mine closed down in Faro Yukon. It later resumed operations as a tourist excursion attraction in 1988.

4. The Yukon Transportation Museum opened its doors on July 1 1990.

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November 6, 2019: Exactly one year ago today I was sitting at my desk when I suddenly suffered a brain hemorrhage. This is my story ~~> BRAIN HEMORRHAGE!

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November 6, 2019: I am elated! It has been announced that Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will no longer wear fur! That's HUGE! Kudo's to the Queen for setting an honourable example! No animal should ever have to suffer & die in agony for the vanity of a human! *As the daughter of a Yukon trapper my message is this: Times change. Let's work together to make this a more humane world!

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September 3 2019: I was honoured to be featured at the Art Bar Poetry Series event in Toronto Ontario where I also spoke about the desperate plight of the Northern Sled Dogs who continue to suffer and die in long distance sled dog races like the Yukon Quest which takes place in my homeland. *View video ~~> Videos by PJ Yukon

The place was packed and I enjoyed connecting with friends old & new.  Pics are of me & Laura Corbeil and fellow poet Pat Connors. And of course a picture of me onstage washed-out by a pot light - Never fails!

*See also videos taken by Laura Corbeil at: Videos by PJ Yukon

 

August 29 2019:

40% OF MUSHERS SIGNED UP FOR 2020 YUKON QUEST HAVE ALREADY RUN AT LEAST ONE DOG TO DEATH!

*Click here to view the latest update of my campaign to end the cruel and barbaric Yukon Quest 1,000-mile sled dog race where animals continue to suffer and die in agony! ~~> https://bit.ly/2puqnVs   

Canada Day July 1st 2019: It's a great day to be Canadian! Exactly 25 years ago today I was formally invested as Poet Laureate of the Yukon. Happy Canada Day! #CanadaDay #amwriting #Yukon #Poetry #writingcommunity #SledDogs #artsandentertainment #BanIditQuest #PoetLaureate

  June 27 2019:   “Love your neighbour. We are all neighbours.” PJ Yukon.

A poem called "we all come" in celebration of National Writing Day from Land of the Midnight Sun!

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