Saskatchewan Names Disaster

2017-11-24

Some wordplay using place names.

There are some things that don't translate well. Humor and cultural references are probably the most famous examples. Puns are have the same problem, although you hear about it less (probably because a lot of people don't like puns).

One example of this is the Bible passage Micah 1:10-15 (which probably suffers more in translation than any other). The original uses various word tricks to prophecy the fall of cities in ancient Israel, but the cleverness is lost or regulated to footnotes in modern translations (except in the Message Bible, which translates the place names too). So I have constructed a similar passage for Saskatchewan place names:

Regina will become a slave,
She who was once the queen,
They will feast on Saskatoon,
And pluck her every flower.
Swift Current will be washed away,
Nor will they be kinder to Kindersley.
Humbolt will be humbled,
Nipawin will never win,
And Wayburn will burn by the wayside.
Battle will come to North Battleford,
And siege will overcome Melfort.
Tell of it not in Moose Jaw,
Nor look for it in Esterhazy,
For Tisdale is not,
And no one will call from Fort Qu'Appelle.

Note: I don't actually know of any imminent disaster. However, the modern world is now facing the return of climate disasters (global warming) and plagues (superbugs, weird allergies), even though we though we had beaten those. So I would not be entirely surprised to see brutal war return as well.

Back to essays page
Back to home page