Canadian poet Don McKay, in Courtenay, June 30

It was a packed house at the Comox Valley Art Gallery to hear Don McKay read from his work. He read several poems from his most recent collection Lurch. Comox Valley poet Carol Neufeld introduced Don with a poem, her title playing off the title of many poems Don has written celebrating the unique song of Canadian birds:

Song for the Songs of Don McKay

O for the loneliness of your
tomato soup lunch
at the Haig Brown House,
the Campbell River
carousing beside you.

O for the holiness of
St. Peter’s Abbey.
Bells tolling, cheerful monks
leaving the radio on for the chickens.

O for the loftiness of
the Banff Writing Studio
overlooking the Bow Valley.
Then hiking up, through deep snow,
to the Lake Agnes tea house.

O for the trinity of your
intelligence, humour and kindness
kept under your vest,
yet ever ready to receive
the surprise in someone else’s words.

Looking and listening.
For six decades: an educator, essayist,
editor, publisher,
and one of Canada’s finest poets.