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| Deena Kara Shaffer with husband Andrew Lorrison and daughter Evelyn (Montreal launch) |
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| Robert Moore, Judith Mackin and Chris Lloyd (Montreal launch) |
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| Jim Johnston (Toronto launch) |
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| Deena Kara Shaffer reading from The Grey Tote (Toronto launch) |
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| Robert Moore reading from The Book of Golden Bovinities (Toronto Launch) |
DEATH TRAPS
A big woods loop of solitude and freshness.
Killarney’s ambled roaming and balsam-smell—
the sought. Days one through three, settled in and dirtied.
The fourth and fifth, sopping, famished. Six, distrust in nature.
Seven through ten, worst-case imaginings:
better to hike the rescue, or wait, hurt?
Play-acting at self-sufficiency:
yes, can pump water, but no, couldn’t tourniquet.
Ultra-liters, and three black bears—
the only passersby.
Miles of wild blueberries: what I’d been after.
After me: moss’ treachery underfoot.
Asked before departure: the near north’s forested quiet.
The reassessed goal: re-reaching others.
Fewer all-nighters of star-canopied joints—
more early-to-beds and held urine.
Less like ferns and boulders, more like death traps—
forecasting the fallout, should head and rock meet.
