Pete’s Dilemma
for Peter Polet
Do I cut ‘er down
for a view of the mountain
and star-strewn lake
or do I wait until
we’re a pair of bad teeth
that need to be removed?
I’m thinking it’d be a shame,
but the view from the sundeck
would be vastly improved –
It’s just – well, holding the train
of her sumptuous green gown, just now
bumptiously flouncing up the path,
this cedar could be my daughter,
teetering on high heels,
out of breath, a little tipsy … .
What is she so anxious to say?
Why is she so out of breath?
Why must the wind cry Mary?
~ Richard Stevenson
Richard Stevenson teaches English and Creative Writing at Lethbridge College. Recent books include Parrot With Tourette’s (Black Moss, Palm Poets Series, 2006), Bye Bye Blackbird (Ekstasis Editions, 2007) (both poetry titles), and Riding on a Magpie Riff (memoir, Settlements series, Black Moss Press, 2006). Two more haiku, senryu, zappai, and tanka books are forthcoming from Spotted Cow Press in Edmonton and Ekstasis Editions in Victoria.
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