Do you recognize the name?
Poem by Dick Reekie, May 1938

If you recognize the name, please email us or call the Museum at 250-935-6348.

CORTEZ ISLAND MEMORIES

I left the sea regretfully and turned
To my new home on arid Prairie land,
Yet still I hear the rhythmic beating tide,
Desire the silken feel of yellow sand.
I long for sun that sets on crimson seas,
The smell and tang of salt, for spume and foam,
For port sick tramps that ease along the docks
With evident relief to be at home.
The time has brought my new home close to me
(I love the winter sun, the cold crisp days,
The merge of colour and the plains that rush
To meet the violet sky line through the haze)
Yet still my heart, that is forever true
To lunging ships, and tides, and salt and rain
Still yearns in secret for the scream of gulls
For drenching spray against my face again.

Edmonton, Alberta, 1938
By Dick Reekie