An excerpt from
The Ultimate Garden

  Imagine if one had a large black hat 

  So round and large that 

  If one sat on the ground 

  It would cover 

  The body 

  And head 

  Only two dark eyes would stare 

  Out from under the hat 

  And two black gloves 

  Might hold the hat 

  Against the wind 

  Imagine screened from the world 

  Black-hatted  Black-gloved 

  Or a series of elegant 

  Hats circling slowly 

  A dancing movement 

  Of black gloves 

  Black hats 

  Black 
 

  And all about a mysterious blue 

  A cool moon crept beyond the peaks 

              of our understanding 
 

        The blue mountain trembled 
 

                  The brown land 

                      languished 

                              far 

                            below 
 
 

  
Copyright © 1992, Patricia Renée Ewing 

Patricia Renée Ewing was born in Montréal, Québec in 1938. She has published one previous volume, The Other Land (Éditions Bonsecour, Montréal, 1974). Written in Spain, this beautifully designed collection is now out-of-print. Described as a poet of myth and metaphor, Ewing has won awards for her work from The Ontario Arts Council and La Ministère des Affaires Culturelles de Québec. In 1978, she won a writing residence fellowship to the prestigious Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico. This award enabled Ewing to travel to Taos, New Mexico where she became active in the Southwestern literary community. Short-term residencies have included The Weymouth Cultural Center and The Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian College, both in North Carolina. Ewing has published widely in journals, anthologies and special collections. 

Recent Canadian publications include CrossCut (Véhicule Press, Montreal, 1982), a major collection of Québec poetry, and Zymergy, a distinguished Montreal literary journal. In the United States, her work has appeared in diverse journals of international stature, as Saint Andrew’s Review and Pembroke Magazine (both in North Carolina), Mundus Artium (Texas) and Puerto del Sol (New Mexico). 

Translations of her poetry have appeared in Spanish, Greek and French. Patricia formed part of a trio of women who travelled in New Mexico giving presentations of poetry, song and dance. In 1989, L’Octogone, Centre de la Culture in Ville LaSalle, Quebec, acquired Ms. Ewing's papers in order to establish a permanent collection within their archives. They have also hosted several exhibitions of her work. Ewing’s public appearances include an interview with host Liam Daly on The Montreal Irish Show (Cable Channel 9). Her poems were recorded by the CBC’s Lynn Hendersen for her radio special, The Quebec Eye Opener. 

An associate member of P.E.N. INTERNATIONAL, Ewing is also a gifted storyteller. She has one son, Diego,of Taos Pueblo ancestry: they both share a passion for exploring and collecting "just about everything from fossils to fine china."