Get the poet upstairs by George Bowering

Get the Poet Upstairs

Get the poet upstairs however you can,

push on the seat of his pants if necessary,

         peel his fingers away from his pen,

then frisk him for other writing utensils,

         check out his shoes and his coat

         lapel,

tell him it’s time to take a rest, five

         poems a day about every stray cat

and lame dog are too many for any poet

         or reader,

advise him to close both his eyes, say omm

         and then omm, until the whole universe

         drops by,

ask him to get into his striped jammies, no slippers,

         lie down and remember yesterday’s poem

         about the bum on Yonge Street,

then let it go, familiar face in a comfy world, to

         walk into the library, let it go to

         find its friends between the covers

         of the university anthology.

                  Translation of “Get the Poem Outdoors” by Raymond Souster

George Bowering is a serious older poet who also writes fiction,
even history and memoirs. His latest book is Pinboy (Cormorant), a novel in the form of a memoir or the other way round. His next book of poetry will be Teeth (Mansfield) in 2013.