LAYAKWAS KENNEDY

 
 

Trauma

Generation to generation there has
           always
Been a gray cloud over our heads.

We feel so empty and blue that
                                     Often
We can't head to bed.

Smallpox blankets no more tradition our women missing our language gone

The trauma
Has begun.

The pain and drought may have played an effect.

No more.

Despite the cloud over my head this will
Not
Pass to another generation.

I will be the change.

 
 

Trauma

2022

Medium: Poetry

 
 
 
 

ARTIST | Layakwas Kennedy

Instagram: @layakwaskennedy.24

Swatahusyost K^tstyokwa Layakwas niyukets anowal niwakitalotu, onyota’a:ka niwakuhutsyota, kwakanheke wakaneklatu, awahite tsikahawi. Hello my name is Layakwas Kennedy which means “he's picking berries” in Oneida. I come from the Oneida Nation Of The Thames and as well Beausoleil first nation. Im resided in Kitchener Ontario. Growing up I never really was an artistic type of guy, it wasn't until I reached highschool that I experienced my true passion for drama, dance, and poetry and I am so happy that I found this passion of mine because it opens up a whole other way of expressing myself.

Email: layakwas@icloud.com

 
 

ARTIST MENTOR | Paul-Daniel Torres

Instagram: @pauldanietorre

Paul-Daniel Torres, is filmmaker, poet and actor, raised by Ecuadorean immigrants in Toronto. His work is based in decolonization, exploring themes of love, family, mental health, politics and intergenerational trauma. He employs an eclectic style reminiscent of his hometown’s multicultural aesthetic, and believes in art’s ability to heal. Always aiming to make people smile.