rob's birthday poem
a poem for rob mclennan
dear friend, publisher, writer rob mclennan turns fifty-four years old today. this is six years younger than me. we have been friends for more than twenty years, beginning with seeing each other at readings and him referring to Charles and I as “those weird polyamorous people.”
i took rob’s poetry workshops at Collected Works starting in 2005, then moving to his house on Alta Vista. they were terrific workshops. many of my dearest friends were in those early workshops with me. rob has been a creative force in Ottawa and beyond for longer than I’ve known him, whether it is all the folk he publishes through above/ground press, the ottawa small press book fair, the interviews and reviews he writes, it’s impressive. he’s also a prolific writer himself. i have a rob mclennan shelf. i drank two glasses of cheap Sauvignon Blanc one night and wrote this poem:
hold your breath
balance a syllable
on a thimble
be wide-ranging
chain to a loop
and onward
forward
children
books
farm
microcosm of history
how we all connect
here's a pitcher
a rickety set of stairs
dart board and chalk
a library of pages between
love a life a house a basement
full of alphabet
ordered as it should be
and hovering
overflow no ing
comic books
green shirt with pocket
for beer
genealogies of connections
where does this all go
spines and staples
folds into envelopes
a collective
a legacy
huzzah!