Thérèse pour joie et orchestre - Poetry

I thank life for having welcomed me into its arms
from time to time
I thank the courageous poets on the jury
I thank the poets who are happy for me
I thank Bob Olivier for having saved my life on more than one occasion
I thank my editor, Hélène Girard
for her conviction
I thank François Hébert from Herbes rouges, Bernard Pozier and the late Louise Blouin from Écrits des Forges
for their work on poetry
I thank Alain Grandbois, Anne Hébert, Saint-Denys-Garneau, Michèle Lalonde, Paul Chamberland, Michel Garneau, Pierre Nepveu, Yves Boisvert, Patrice Desbiens and Mr. Miron, for their poetry
I thank Fire, my father
for raising me
I thank my sister Louise for sharing
I thank Harmonium and Tolstoy
“Les Décrocheurs d’étoiles” and P’tit à P’tit 
I thank my next employer
for its open spirit
and, how can I thank her?
I think of Thérèse with all my heart
it is because of her that I had books in my hands
that I crossed
over pitfalls and through gardens
with her, that delicate intellectual with a beating heart
shared life and the madness of the world
psychoanalysis and wonderment
the strong feelings that still linger
I thank poetry
for including me in the world