ANDRE PREFONTAINE
The Rusty Toque | Issue 11 | Poetry | November 30, 2016
HOUDINII call him Houdini, the only man I’d ever known who could turn a ladybug into the best birthday present ever with a flick of his wrist even though it crawled on top his fingertip and flew away kinda like how he did. My earliest memories are of a fishing trip where we could only catch sea weed so we wore it on top of our heads as wigs Houdini and I’ve made those moments cinematic masterpieces captured through the lens of a child’s eye, developed into coming of age clips labelled Remember When, a home movie often watched while staring off into the bar drunk waiting for the drugs to show up because he never did. If all the world’s a stage then here is my tightrope walk along the borderline: my human cannon ball projection, my poor impulse control, the funhouse mirrors sideshow of my self perception. Silence is the only noise I do not know how to make. Houdini needed a quiet audience so he utilized the force of a lion tamer’s whip in lieu of a magic wand. We are born into the hands of strangers, can only hope to God they know what’s best for us. Houdini Was it that hard to hear my secret? I know magicians never reveal theirs so I wondered were you as scared as I was when I told you I was gay? Were you so afraid to be seen with a homosexual that you shut your own closet door, shut it tight and allowed the chains from which you thought you broke free become the bondage for someone else? It’s been thirteen years. You’ve missed my valedictorian address my addiction my sobriety my accomplishments and I miss you. You are nothing but a cardboard cutout in the phantom aspects of my imagination. I wonder what Fathers Day would be like if you were here with me. I am my father’s son but I refuse to abandon you the same way you abandoned me. I will not wait for a eulogy to tell you I love you. I will not wait for you to be on your deathbed before I tuck you in at night and say I love you Papa, I love you! These words have been fluttering inside my stomach like uncontrollable butterflies I’ve finally been able to strap string to and make them fly in formation. Papa, can you see this? I love you. I learned a magic trick. It’s called forgiveness. Let me know if you’d like to see it. because I would love to see you. Andre Prefontaine came in 1st place on April 30th at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Finals Night Competition at the Rio Theater in Vancouver, making Andre the 2016 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion. This is Andre's third-round poem Houdini.
Vancouver Poetry Slam, 2016 |
ANDRE PREFONTAINE is the 2016 Canadian Individual Slam Champion and will represent Canada at the 2017 World Cup of Poetry in Paris, France. He’s a graduate of Buddies in Bad Times "Young Creators Unit," where he honed his one-man show "(mE)dith Piaf". Always unabashed and unapologetic, he’s a former longtime Calgary resident who now lives (and loves) in Toronto.