Twelve Hokku on a Canadian Theme 12 — Summary

Louise Morey Bowman packs a whole national story into three short lines. The image is simple: new trails, roads, or railways cut quickly from the wild into the growing city. “Fast” sets the pace, suggesting rush, energy, and change that feels almost unstoppable. The speaker seems caught between admiration and a quiet sense of loss — the wilderness is being left behind as the country rushes forward. That pause at “Years pass ... Canada!” turns the scene into something larger than a landscape. It compresses generations of settlement and transformation into a single breath. The exclamation at the end is proud but also a little wistful, like watching a place grow up too fast. The mood is bright, swift, and reflective, carrying the excitement of a young country alongside the ache of what has been paved over.