Excerpts from an Untitled and Unfinished Poem by Michael Penny

             #187

My work begins 

when the day begins

and I take a dawn breath;

things happen and pass

and twilight comes

and the day and I exhale. 

            #188

Someone has laid out the pieces--

rock, tree, air, and water--

randomly on my work table.

To the side, there’s instructions

on how to make a landscape

written in a language I do not know.  

     

             #189

In the quiet places

trees go about their business

under the casual supervision of birds,

and on these islands

not all surrounded by water

I find myself. 

Michael Penny’s most recent book, Particles, was shortlisted for the Stephansson Award. He divides his time between Edmonton and Bowen Island.