some quaint perched aerie on the cliffs of time #2
through the bare windows
fall colours caress
the open wound of
the bow river valley
as if the earth
is finally used to the gash
~ Anne Sorbie
Anne Sorbie was born in Paisley, Scotland and she lives and writes in Calgary. Her fiction has appeared in journals such as Geist and Other Voices. Anne’s first novel, Memoir of a Good Death, is forthcoming (September 2010) with Thistledown Press.
“I’m from away. I was born in Scotland, and until this past summer I imagined my heart was [still] in the Highlands (Burns). But in July, during a trip there with my two daughters, despite the marvels of the green valleys and hills, the snubbed nose of Ben Nevis, and the history soaked castles, I realized that I was simply a visitor. This is the place that lurks under my skin and inhabits my heart now. This Alberta: land of perpetual sun, hardened weather, wind, and indescribable light.”
Editor’s note: This poem is from Home and Away – a sequel to the bestselling Writing the Land (2007). Look for one poet to be featured each day as Alberta poets ponder the question “what is home?†and explore our complex relationship with working on, living with, exploiting and protecting our land and our home. For more information about the project, click here.
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