APRIL 30. Josh Quirion
EXCUSE ME, WHY DO YOU WORSHIP SMALL BONES?
According to the philosophy of a druid I encountered on public transport,
The hollow of a coward’s collarbone is deepest—to carry the shame.
Tomorrow, I wait feet crooked for public transport, a bird perches upon me,
Drinks from the hollow of my coward’s collarbone – flies away east.
There’s a memorial for the old druid; he wears a tunic and has been shaved.
Curious, I dig a hand inside the lifeless collarbone – it’s bottomless.
Born and raised francophone, I remember referring to it as the colour-bone.
I cannot but wonder now – what is the color of the shame we carry?
I kiss the druid’s shaved cheek and thank him for being the wisest coward.
I place a bird’s feather – in the bottomless hollow of his collarbone.
Josh Quirion is a French-Canadian writer from the Eastern Townships of Quebec. He holds an M.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from Concordia University. He is the co-founder and first editor-in-chief of yolk literary magazine. He is the author of two short story collections, Towners & Other Stories (Shoreline Press, 2020) and Homebound (Shoreline Press, 2025). Quirion’s writing has also appeared in The Malahat Review, Prairie Fire, The Antigonish Review, Funicular Magazine, Guernica Editions’ anthology Chronicling the Days, and others. He currently lives in Montreal but is strategically plotting a return to his beloved Townships.
All through the month of April, we’re sharing a poem a day, celebrating the vibrant voices of our local poets writing in English. This initiative is coordinated by Angela Leuck, publisher of Shoreline Press.
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