As the Quebec Bar mulls over the question of whether to continue their legal challenge of Quebec laws for giving English-speaking citizens poor translations of original French statutes, all I can say is I hope they Keep Calm and Carry On.
The laws in Quebec are flawed in toto
They’d be more legit if written by Quasimodo.
Contrary to poet Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, on a recent bike ride The Road Was Taken. It was a rather nasty spill, but fortunately I dusted off the grit, cleaned the scraped knee and forearm, and still nurse my bruised thumb and palm. I don’t recommend suffering for one’s art.
Today was the day I stole marble cheese
Unbeknownst it was hidden in my cart
I never knew I had such expertise.
When poet deft turns to theft I tend to freeze
The making of blended cheddar is an art
Today was the day I stole marble cheese.
Judges often hear the most far-fetched pleas
I swear it was fair error on my part
I never knew I had such expertise.
Past the cashier I passed with relative ease
I did not dash, pay cash, nor did I dart
Today was the day I stole marble cheese.
When I became cognizant I felt a breeze
The zephyr definitely gave me a start
I never knew I had such expertise.
Tackled by contrasting philosophies
I searched to see if I had stolen a tart
Today was the day I stole marble cheese
I never knew I had such expertise.
One should never rush a poem, and alas, I am one. This poem took years in gestation, or hours, okay, a few seconds. Nevertheless, it came when the muse kissed me on the forehead. I hope you love like it.
Some poems just need to wait to be written. This Sunday Poem had to wait till Tuesday. That’s what happens when the muse takes a holiday. Everyone needs a holiday, I guess. I could use one myself. But alas, I went to work making this poem on May 1. Hope you enjoy this villanelle.
May Day, May Day
Workers should receive a minimum wage, they say
They being the Members of the National Assembly
But their indemnities, expenses, allowances, pensions, we pay.
You would have thunk there’d be some Egalité
But workers’ and porkers’ wages differ remarkably
Workers should receive a minimum wage, they say.
When the governors receive 8 times more, moral decay
besets the province. They claim this promotes diversity
But their indemnities, expenses, allowances, pensions, we pay.
Who proclaims, “Let them drink cafe au lait,
after all, we do so—you know—comfortably.”
Workers should receive a minimum wage, they say.
Twelve dollars an hour is recommendation of the dossier
The Minister(who receives $167,482 a year) says it’s appropriate economically.
But their indemnities, expenses, allowances, pensions, we pay.
Though disparity causes Francophones great dismay
Disparity prevails a little too regularly
Workers should receive a minimum wage, they say
But their indemnities, expenses, allowances, pensions, we pay.
Lokshtanov 