Thaw

Thaw

A cartoon man in a toque and overcoat stands on a ladder. He has a hammer and screwdriver in his pocket, earbuds in his ears, and he is cracking ice off his roof with a hatchet. Water drains from a small channel in the ice, above a door. There is a light on inside. Caption: “11:20 PM./ After a January thaw./ An ice dam pushes water/ back up the roof/ and in through the ceiling./ I climb up to cut a channel/ and let the water drain./ Ice chips fly/ my shoulder aches/ and Stuart McLean/ tells me a story/ about Dave & Morely/ over CBC Radio./ I think to myself/ ‘How much more/ quintessentially Canadian/ can this get?'”

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