Secrets of the Universe (by David McFadden)

Secrets of the Universe (by David McFadden)

Original Text
Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden (Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2007). This poem is reproduced on the Griffin Prize Web Site (from a volume on the 2008 Canadian Shortlist).
1You’re waiting for a bus at Ward and Baker
2and a woman comes up to you
3and asks for a dance.
4You tell her you don’t want to dance
5for there is too much snow
6and not enough music
7and she says you didn’t mind
8dancing with me last night.
9And when you tell her she’s mistaken
10you didn’t dance with her or anyone last night
11she says oh yes you did
12and when you ask where
13she says up there
14on the roof
15and she points to the roof of Hipperson Hardware.
16In fact, she says, as her voice drops
17and a shy look comes into her eyes
18I’ve even danced with you on other planets
19Venus and Mars for instance
20and then she walks away
21leaving you to wonder about the part of your life
22that is secret even from you.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2011