At Caffe Beano



A tax accountant is giving advice to a client

And my soul is dying

Outside, the sun is too feeble

To melt the snow.


Inside it is cold

And hollow. 


If I was a bird

I would migrate.


I’m a poet.

I stare off into space.


And listen

To second hand

Tax advice


	 . . . keep all your receipts . . . 


Another day

In Paradise.

~ Eugene Stickland

Eugene Stickland grew up in Regina where he eventually worked on an MA in English at the University of Regina, which was interrupted when he went to Toronto to complete an MFA in Playwriting at York University. Eugene wrote plays in Toronto for a number of years for the Act IV Theatre Company before moving to Calgary in 1994. While in Calgary, Eugene enjoyed a 10 year stint as Alberta Theatre Projects’ playwright in residence, writing 6 plays for the company in that time, along with others for other theatres across Canada. On leaving ATP, Eugene became a feature columnist for the Calgary Herald for the next five years. His plays have been produced around the world in many different languages. Queen Lear has just closed its second season in Istanbul, in Turkish translation and has been translated into Russian, with a production in Moscow anticipated next season. Eugene is currently working on several new projects, including a volume of poetry, “Nocturnal Emissions,” and a new play, “Those White Things in the Ocean.” Eugene was recently appointed writer in residence at Calgary’s St. Mary’s University College and teaches English at Alberta Business and Educational Services. He lives in downtown Calgary.

To read more of Eugene’s work click here.

Filed under: Eugene Stickland, Poems by, RE:ACT Art & Community Together - Calgary Poetry Project by editor Date 30 April, 2013

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