Patrice Desbiens

Patrice Desbiens (born 1948) is a Francophone Canadian poet. He was born in Timmins, Ontario and began his career as a journalist. Since making his literary debut in 1972, he has been regarded as one of Canada’s most successful French-language poets. He is associated with the publishing house Éditions Prise de parole and the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario in Sudbury, Ontario. He has received many awards for his poetry, including the Prix Champlain in 1997 for Un pépin de pomme sur un poêle à bois and the Prix de poésie Terrasses Saint-Sulpice-Estuaire for La Fissure de la fiction in 1998. He was also a finalist for the Governor General's Prize in 1985, for his book Dans l'après-midi cardiaque.

The Age of Tender Love Songs

The age of tender love songs
is gone

A tear has coagulated under
the skin

Mirrors break
reflecting the
perfection of madness

I am a Stranger Superimposed

I am a stranger superimposed
on flowered curtains

This pen is noisy
scratching like an old
Ink Spots record

I am a dead baby under
hamburger skies

The smokers breathe
thru me

I forgot one of my legs
on the bus
oh

I came here
I am here now
and remain faithfully
but

the poem goes on

The Road to Panic

The road to panic
is so
well-oiled

The priest arrives
in a police car
to administer the
last sacraments

He speaks like
Elmer Fudd and
waves his crucifix around
like a .38

Honest
suntan faces
line the
crime scene

Electric Gazelle

Electric gazelle
sleeping
beside me

Astronauts
have travelled
the troubled space
of her body

Who is she
what does she
want
?

Ask her

disaster

From The Art of Disappearing
by Patrice Desbiens
© 2017 Patrice Desbiens
Published by Ekstasis Editions