Preface

The poems in this chapbook were written to capture and document the memories of the places, people and life of where I grew up. The reader of these poems may look upon these verses as pictures, paintings, or sculptures of real life places, people, legends and historical events pertaining to Wedgeport and its surroundings. These poems were written to capture with words an innocent way of life that has to some extent sadly faded into the past. As the following verse from Marsh Hay states:

As the summer season passed over

Mounts scattered on the marshland

Monuments of a fading culture

New tide slowly covering the land

To add a touch of realism, I used words that are commonly used by the people of Wedgeport in their daily talk. At times, I’ve used my imagination to emphasize or dramatize an incident, a situation or a personality. But, the fundamental idea has its roots in the Wedgeport culture. I’ve taken pieces of our Acadian history and known personalities from different periods to create a unit of art. This was done for the sole purpose of making the poem more interesting. This is particular true with the poem, The Legend of the Rappie Pie, where you’ll find people from the past and the present interacting in a fictitious setting.

On a personal note, growing up in Wedgeport gave me a foundation and set of values to build on and survive the intense completive world. To this day, more than forty years later since I left Wedgeport, these values are still my guiding force.

Finally, I dedicate these poems to Wedgeport people, from the founders to those living today, because we created these poems by being ourselves. As the writer of these poems and having been born and raised in Wedgeport, I merely reported who we are and I now realize more than ever that we are unique and special in more ways than we know.

Bill Boudreau (Billy á Cyriac)