Rare Bird-Margaret Atwood

This poem was written by Tom for Margaret Atwood on her 75th birthday. He was invited to her final birthday party at Laurentian University to kick things off with a poem and this was written for the occasion. It is titled Rare Bird as a tribute to the fact that she is an honourary member of the Canadian Rare Bird Society.

Rare Bird - Margaret Atwood

The appeal of her calling inspires us to sit up straight, she insists we pay attention, take notice, and listen to the birds, to the trees, to ourselves and our future. She sets a feather to the skin of our imagination and tickles possibilities. Images lift off the page, reflections of a diverse country struggling to find its stride and take flight. Wrapped in a quilt stitched by her words, we find ourselves, curled up in our nests by the fireplace hot beverage by our side, settled in and ready to entertain worlds of "realistic fiction" through the eyes of a rare bird.

- Thomas Leduc