quelque fois en quête d’un quotidien quiet
je rêve en quechua du Quetzal (n.m., mot nahuatl, oiseau des forêts du Mexique et d’Amérique centrale)
à son plumage vert quasiment
quand le jour nous quitte, j’avale
des quetsches, tout le violet des questions
des quintets de qu’en-dira-t-on québécois
je reste sur le qui-vive
[S→Q]1
depending on the questing and the quiet
I’m queen of the quarter moon
quoting Sappho, sharing quarters
with my queer sisters
desires quickening with tequila and quince
the quaking world no quarrel no quicksand
all quite clear in memory:
the quilt of me, the quill of me
quivering
The “Q” entry in English is a translation of the “S” entry in French, and the “S” entry in English is a translation of the “Q” entry in French. See discussion of this switch in the translator’s introduction and notes.
Article Author Biography
Ross Belot is a poet translator from Hamilton Ontario. His collaborative translation of Paul Éluard's La Vie immédiate was a finalist for the 2026 Stephen Mitchell Prize for Excellence in Translation. Poems from that collection have been published widely including The Denver Quarterly, World Poetry Review and peer reviewed in Delos. His poetry has been a finalist for the CBC Poetry Prize and the Montreal International Poetry Prize. He is a co-editor of The Transformation Review