When I was young and brilliant, I was a philosopher prince. I wore silk vests of peacock green and knew many of the names for God. I walked briskly down the avenue, always aware of how important my time was. I collected titles and unique experiences. My shelves were filled with important books. Now I… Read more »
When I was an explorer, you were like a hidden continent spread out before me. I traversed your lowlands, studied your fables, and pitched my canvas tent beside your hidden rivers. I breathed deep into my lungs the spices of your ancient trade routes and drew maps describing all of your wonders in elaborate pen… Read more »
On her way home from school, the girl with red hair and green eyes stops to watch three old women who are sitting around a small fire. The women are enclosed by a circle of stones situated beneath an exit ramp leading to an overpass. They sit in the shadow of an abandoned factory on… Read more »
He’s a blue-collar working stiff. An ordinary, run-of-the-mill kind of guy. He works the graveyard shift at the plastics plant off Highway 5. He carries tuna fish sandwiches in a metal lunch box. He watches Hockey Night in Canada and news at eleven. He hums along to Shania Twain singing on the radio in his… Read more »
For a long time, I was sloppy and absent-minded, careless and emotional. This personal slovenliness could be seen in my lack of attention to the lawn. It was overgrown with dandelions and horsetails. Abominable morning glories and vicious daisies ran rampant. There were weeds that I was never able to accurately identify. There were thirty-seven… Read more »
At noon on a hot day, we’ve spread out the picnic blanket on the edge of the muddy riverbank. The day smells like lemonade and chicken salad sandwiches, cold beer and coconut-scented sunscreen. Our friends’ three-month-old child is making a chattering, hiccupping sort of sound. The sound is like an ancient tongue of childhood, as… Read more »
Q: When you think back to your time on Earth, what are your fondest memories? A: Well, I always thought it be the cum laude university degree or the Lexus, with its leather seats and ivory-coloured dash. Maybe it’s closing that last-minute deal with Insulcon. Turns out, though, it’s a whole bunch of weird things…. Read more »
On the day when love is new, you drive along winding avenues lined with elms and cherries. Van Morrison sings on the radio about the glories of love. He sings just for you. You drive around, directionless, your mind a quiet, deep pool filled with silent ornamental fish. You are amazed by the beauty of… Read more »
Take a journey with me tonight. Put that pack of cigarettes up on the dash of the Delta ’88. There is this town I want to take you to. It’s a place where everybody sleeps all day long. When it rains the silver drops rise up from the ground into the sky. All of the… Read more »
In the city of my imagination the tycoons and the plutocrats, the Donald Trumps and Jimmy Pattisons of the world, pull pedicabs up narrow cobblestone alleyways. There are dark stains under the armpits of their Armani suits. The cabs are filled with poets and midwives out for a bender. In my city, the streets are… Read more »