the clouds
have not moved
in two days
they cover
the Telkwa Range
to the north
the Babines
to the east
the sky between
is clear the still air
has become colder
this morning
the lake is quiet
no boats no children
on the beach
the loons
have the freedom
their call implies
in the stillness
the aspen leaves sound
like timid choristers
filling the ear
with their soft
thin music
it is good
to open the door
step outside
sit apart
fill a blank page
—
Michael Boissevain is a clinical psychologist by training and a poet by avocation, living in Victoria BC on the unceded territory of the Lekwungen speaking peoples. His poetry is forthcoming in The Brussels Review. In 1974, he attended University of Victoria’s Creative Writing program with Robin Skelton, Dirk Wynand, and John Montague. His chapbook The Long Table was shortlisted for the 2024 Raven Press Chapbook Contest. In his writing, Michael gravitates towards themes of family, the land, the environment, and the politics of the complicated world that we all inhabit.
