ditch,

Keith Bridger was born in Edmonton, raised in Winnipeg, and now lives in Toronto. He studied theatre and drama at the University of Winnipeg, and creative writing at George Brown College in Toronto. His first chapbook, the earth bear a breath, was published in September 2007.  In May of 2008 his collection, Left Turn, was published as the first of the Pliable Library series.

ESSENCE 

GRATEFULLY DISTILLED

SOME PHENOMENON

I TRY TO PRESERVE

BOILING QUALITY

DEFINE CHARACTER

TO THE ELEMENT

I LOOK FOR THE ONE

WORD THAT IS MADE UP 

OF EVERY LETTER

AND THAT I CAN SPELL

BY TRACING OUT THE 

SHAPE OF A CIRCLE

static

jerk and pull on my way

to some sort of balance

stay put on the wire

a snare - diaphragm stretched

tightly over my ears

alto roll just hit notes

blue light pops - rips apart

the sweater is pulled off

energy of break up

the pictures of you flash

i don't need to see them 

to know your frozen face

i saw the shock transform 

you from stationary

to a body at rest

radio waves connect me

drown out this crackle hiss

ice on the river breaks

spots

small dots are swept away

one tile at a time

moving black pattern of ants

flee from lost morsels 

in the dust pile one speck

twitches — it's legs swept away

i see all of this

it is my moral blemish

                  *

i watch from the darkened roof

people gather around candles

blackout faces flicker

a low hum surrounds

in makeshift shelters

we drink warm beer and gamble

by morning sunspots

bring us dark energy

place

in a portion of space five lines

connect five points to make one star

cast your lines around the city

see if your streetcar matches mine

salt lines on the still damp pavement

i watch my step when j-walking

yellow tape forms a border line

i won't afford an upward move

lines are broken up on the page

words connect the space provided