JACQUELINE TURNER

a canadian poem


a canadian poem would
mention hockey, even
if the players are on
strike

a canadian poem would
be excesssively polite,
even obsequious

a canadian poem would
wonder why you were
reading it, when there
are so many other
poems to read

a canadian poem would
be bilingual, mais ma
français, c’est
mauvaise

a canadian poem would
be emblazoned on a
backpack, as if to say
this is not an american
poem

a canadian poem would
try to keep the peace
a canadian poem would
take a long time to
apologize for Indian
residential schools,
Japanese internment
camps, Chinese head
tax

a canadian poem would
be quiet

a canadian poem would
incessantly discuss
Quebec sovereignty:
oui ou non

a canadian poem would
say no to joining the
war in Iraq

a canadian poem would
be multicultural
speaking at least 73
different languages

a canadian poem might
not notice the loss of
some 50 aboriginal
languages because the
only native speakers
are dying

a canadian poem might
mention elementary
school classes all taught
in shuswap

a canadian poem could
marry another canadian
poem even if that
poem was the same
gender

this is a canadian poem

a canadian poem would
be long like the
transcanada highway

a canadian poem would
be flat like the prairies

a canadian poem would
be huge like the
rockies

this is not a canadian
poem

a canadian poem would
challenge stereotypes
by saying canadian
poems don’t always
wear toques

a canadian poem would
fit in your pocket

a canadian poem is
impossible

a canadian poem would
wonder if people were
making fun of it behind
its back

you might think a
canadian poem would
end each line with, eh?
like that’s such a
canadian poem, eh?
but you’d be so wrong

the last line of a
canadian poem would
always be thank you,
thank you for noticing

JACQUELINE TURNER lives in Vancouver, but grew up in a small town called Chase, which figures largely in her first book of poetry Into the Fold. Jacqueline was Queensland’s inaugural poet-in-residence at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane, and a poet-in-residence in Tasmania where her book The Ends of the Earth came to light. She teaches critical and creative writing at Emily Carr University of Art and Design on Granville Island where she helps artists find the space to create their books.