If Canada’s poet laureate did not exist it would not be necessary to invent him. And perhaps not possible either, even for a gimlet-eyed satirist.
Consider that the actual incumbent of this actual position, Fred Wah, was just quoted in the newspapers whining to some Scottish audience that in all his time in office he’s only been asked to produce one “mediocre poem” (his own description) about the Queen, instead of being invited to land one left-wing verse haymaker after another on the Harper administration “about immigration policy, about Idle No More, about Canada’s complicity in the Middle East, the Enbridge pipeline” and so on.
When you consider that his official oeuvre begins “She said looking through the monarchy of pronouns Her halftone face profiles the moment” it is less surprising than he seems to believe that he was not asked for an encore. Besides, what rhymes with Enbridge? Although I gather rhyming is passé in poetry these days.
So long then Fred
Like what you said.