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First Light

First Light

by Sadiqa de Meijer

The moon’s sickle drowns
in long clouds with luminous bellies
that the wind is herding to Montreal Street,
and crows flutter in and out of the spruce tree—
one shoulders the wind in a slant,
turns liquid for a curving instant, like the last
remnant of the dark, dissolving.

About this Poem

Sadiqa de Meijer lives in the Skeleton Park neighbourhood. Her new poetry collection, The Outer Wards, comes out in April. 

You can find more of her poetry in the KFPL collection, and her previous Poetry Blackboard poems here.

About the Poetry Blackboard

The Poetry Blackboard showcases poems curated by Kingston's Poet Laureate and written by Kingston poets. There's a new poem every month, written by poets living and dead, historical and contemporary, published and unpublished, adults and children, giving full range to the cultural voice of Kingston. Started in 2015 by Helen Humphreys, the Poetry Blackboard has been continued since 2019 by Jason Heroux.

We wish to thank Helen Humphreys, Kingston's second Poet Laureate, for her generous support of emerging and established poets in Kingston through library programming and our Poetry Blackboard project. Throughout her four years as Poet Laureate, Helen curated a digital collection of poetry to showcase the talents of local creators of all ages, both historic and contemporary. Helen also offered several opportunities for emerging poets to develop their craft, offering group workshops and one-on-one mentorship. Her active engagement with the library and community has been greatly appreciated.

In 2019 we welcomed the incoming Poet Laureate, Jason Heroux, who continues to curate the Poetry Blackboard and to develop new community programming.

Previously Published Poems