Ken Cathers

Ken Cathers is married with two sons and lives with his family in the town where he was born, Ladysmith, B.C. He has worked at Harmac Pacific Pulp Mill in Nanaimo for thirty-two years. He has a B.A. from University of Victoria and an M.A. from York University in Toronto. His previous books include World of Strangers and Blues for the Grauballeman (Ekstasis Editions). This is his sixth published book of poetry.

just an outline
some flaw
of light

where you were
a second ago

best to disbelieve
keep down the panic
that rises up

prepare for another
ninja ambush
sprung from shadow

the mad echolalia
of laughter as you
spaniel through endless games

turn pinwheel spirals
through vacant
playground rampage

become another line
in a poem
that doesn’t end

words falling away
like empty clothes
in my arms

where you slipped
through
ran to darkness

grew invisible
forever

you were missing
& there was
no benign prognosis
in the works

was sure if I drove
home fast enough
I would find you

safe, before the
night highways
become dead roads
leading nowhere.

you were missing
& all the torture
of those simple
explanations

had been long ago
used up

I was on the wrong side
of the mirror

your reflection
could not see me

it floated on
the surface

a naked corpse
on a lake

deeper than
silence

From missing pieces
by Ken Cathers
© 2017 Ken Cathers
Published by Ekstasis Editions