The Messenger of Spring

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

In this fresh interpretation of the Mohawk legend of the coming of
spring, C.J. Taylor exquisitely captures the reluctant but inevitable
retreat of Iceman and the triumph of New Dawn as warmth and life return
to the Earth.

One day, a young stranger meets Iceman by his dying campfire in the
snowy woods. Proudly, Iceman tells of his powers in autumn and winter,
but now he is old and tired. As New Dawn sings and dances, wonderful
signs of returning life spring up around him. The bears emerge from
their caves, and then the snakes from their rocky retreats; tiny shoots
of green break through the forest floor and caterpillars feast on new
leaves. Soon the forest teems with life and Iceman’s power is broken.
Knowing they will meet again, he bids goodbye to New Dawn. His final
gift is a wild portulaca or Spring Beauty, sprouting from the ashes of
his dead fire; it offers, in its bulbous root, spring’s first food.

Taylor’s beautiful and imaginative paintings capture the gradual but
inevitable changes as life returns. With her striking words and images,
she injects vitality and relevance into a timeless tale. Highly
recommended.