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Hi everyone!  For our poetic inspiration, we are turning to a well-known Canadian poet, David McFadden. His life in Canadian poetry has spanned five decades and his 2012 collection What’s the Score? won the 2013 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize.

Judges’ Citation

“David McFadden has been a major underground poet all his writing life, and the young poets discover him every year. He has always been the darling of the avant-garde, but he is the most readable poet on the planet. Like his hero William Blake, he lives at ease among the most supernatural of events, and gazes in wonderment at everyday things. As a poet he reminds you to be yourself, to be yourself in the world, and give it a chance to amaze you. While reading his beautiful clear language, you sense that he is a trickster, but you cannot help believing every stanza he writes. If there is any such thing as an essential poet, here he is.”

Secrets of the Universe

You’re waiting for a bus at Ward and Baker
and a woman comes up to you
and asks for a dance.

You tell her you don’t want to dance
for there is too much snow
and not enough music
and she says you didn’t mind
dancing with me last night.

And when you tell her she’s mistaken
you didn’t dance with her or anyone last night
she says oh yes you did
and when you ask where
she says up there
on the roof
and she points to the roof of Hipperson Hardware.

In fact, she says, as her voice drops
and a shy look comes into her eyes
I’ve even danced with you on other planets
Venus and Mars for instance
and then she walks away

leaving you to wonder about the part of your life
that is secret even from you.

From Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden, by David McFadden

Our challenge is to write about everyday life with an element of wonder or dotted with psychic bus stops that are sometimes unfathomable to ourselves. For those who are inspired by title, here are some quotes to spur your writing:

“Words were different when they lived inside of you.”
― Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.”
― Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

If you are new to the pub, this is how it works:

• Write your poem
• Post it on your blog or website
• Click on Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post and enter your name and the direct URL of your post
• Visit and read other poets’ work and let them know what you thought
• Spread the word on social media with the #dVersePoets hashtag

Have fun and see you out on the trail!