National Poetry Month : Candace De Taeye,

 

An Ode to Hogtown’s Trashpandas

 

 

Procyon lotor, hand sanitizer.
Masked diaspora of the waschbär, araiguma.
Check off 27 of Toronto Life’s -100 Best Cheap Eats.
Wash hands, were able to open 11 of 13 complex lox.
Schmear is spread thick, flecked with red onions and capers
available 24/7. Trash panda, a Mothers Dumplings
the window on Dundas where we get
5 spice lamb kebabs. Khao soi. Pupusa.
Many sleep in the nearby forest after foraging
in the settlement area. Bonjour Brioche, perfect
for sharing better for hogging
the razor thin slices of salty, fatty.
Dexterous front paws
remove soiled gloves, alcohol hand rub.
33% plant foods, 27% vertebrates
flakey, made from scratch butter bomb.
Unable to run quickly or jump great distances.

My mom kept one as pet, gave it ice cream, to watch it
wash hands.

Antibacterial soap. Gushi box half full of purple
rice, karaage chicken. Lahore carnival ambiance the
Daylight activity is not a reliable indicator of
illness/distemper. Get Well balloon meme.
Front paws to examine and rub
the virucidal wipes over the stretcher.
Udupi’s gleaming white basement, paper-thin
dosas. Pide’s lahmajoun and fresh parsley.
Near opposable thumbs fashioning hand pinched perogies.
Jatujak tofu, coconut milk and lime leaves.
May well be world’s most omnivorous animal.
Then more hand sanitizer (hand washing
not observed in all wild cases.)

A long simmer of bones, onions, dried anise,
it’s hard to stop slurping. Life expectancy depends
mainly on local traffic volume. East cubbyhole street-style
rotating vertical spit topped with pineapple.
Al pastor councillor Norm “the sidewalk
memorial is growing.” When food is plentiful
develops strong individual food preferences.
“residents are being asked to keep
their green bins open tonight in honour of
#DeadRaccoonTO.”

 

 

 

 

CANDACE DE TAEYE’s poetry has been previously published in Arc, CNQ, CV2, Grain, Vallum and others. She recently completed University of Guelph’s Creative Writing MFA program. She has two chapbooks Roe and The Ambulance Act. The poetry collection Pronounced/Workable was published by Mansfield Press fall 2022. During the day, and more often at night she works as a paramedic in Toronto’s downtown core. She lives in Guelph with her partner, kids, some geriatric treefrogs and a 25 lb tortoise.