Guest Poem by Cyril Dabydeen

Cyril Dabydeen is Ottawa Poet Laureate Emeritus, short story writer, novelist, and anthologist. His books include: My Undiscovered Country/Stories, God’s Spider, My Multi-Ethnic Friends/Stories, and Imaginary Origins: Selected Poems. His novel, Drums of My Flesh, is a Guyana Prize-winner, and nominee for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. Cyril’s work has appeared in numerous literary anthologies, e.g, Poetry (Chicago), The Critical Quarterly, Canadian Literature, and in Oxford, Penguin, and Heinemann volumes. He taught Writing at the University of Ottawa for many years. This poem is from Acumen 109.