Previously published as The Lead Guitarist, poetry. First Edition: Serialized in spark* (Vancouver, BC), 2000. Excerpt published in CHALLENGER international (Quesnel, BC), 2008. Second Edition: Published in An Introductory Creative Writing Program-Monograph Two (Academic Exchange Extra, 2009, January [University of Northern Colorado: Greeley, CO]). Third Edition: LukivPress (Quesnel, BC), 2014. Fourth Edition: Published in Creative Writing for Senior Secondary Students (LukivPress [Quesnel, BC], 2014). New title, Whirlpool, poetry. Revised Edition: LukivPress (Victoria, BC), 2019. // An excerpt // Tarantula // Far from Scythian / Females, in / The Amazon- / Jungle of monster- / Leaves, where / Nobody severs / The right breast / To make the bow fit, // Little-clad / Men-folk eat / Tarantulas. Held / Between two sticks / Over flames that burn off / Leg-hair, the / Salty meat sizzles / And steams. // Tang and season are as / Foreign as a Visa card / Or an army helmet. But / Tarantulas abound. Crack / Open / The crustacean shell / For the jungle- / Candy. // An entomologist on CBC / Said you cannot compare / The meat to anything- / Not to rabbit or chicken: / Tarantula is to tarantula / As bullets are to bullets / And hate is to hate. // These people love tarantulas. / They love the spicy / Meat.
