Frogless

The sore trees cast their leaves
too early. Each twig pinching
shut like a jabbed clam.
Soon there will be a hot gauze of snow
searing the roots.

Booze in the spring runoff,
pure antifreeze;
the stream worms drunk and burning.
Tadpoles wrecked in the puddles.

Here comes an eel with a dead eye
grown from its cheek.
Would you cook it?
You would if.

The people eat sick fish
because there are no others.
Then they get born wrong.

This is not sport, sir.
This is not good weather.
This is not blue and green.

This is home. Travel anywhere in a year, five years,
and you'll end up here.

Margaret Atwood
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Mt. Gardener is 2,500 ft.high, rising from the waters of Howe Sound and near Bowen Island Bowen Island ( 3 miles off shore from Vancouver, Canada). The reading will correspond with Earth Day.

The reading on Mt. Gardner was organized by Bernice Lever (President, Canadian Authors Association - Vancouver) and occured April 21, 2002.

Photos below.

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Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario on November 18, 1939. She is the author of more than twenty-five books, including fiction, poetry, and essays. Among her most recent works are the bestselling novels Alias Grace, Cat's Eye, and The Robber Bride, and the collections Wilderness Tips and Bluebeard's Egg. Among the many honors she has received are the Canadian Governor General's Award, The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence in the U.K., and Le Chevalier dans l'Ordre de Arts et Les Lettres in France. She lives in Toronto with the novelist Graeme Gibson.