Toronto
Even a cleaner city
Is nothing without its grime.
Toronto
Neighbor to the north.
I see your pain.
I see what happens when hipster
Meets heroine.
I smell your lack of modesty.
It's only the first day.
But I found your French quarter
Of Philadelphia.
I found your roses
Dying on the concrete.
Do you see me?
A poet new in town and
Fresh off the bus
Carries a certain decor with him.
A judge,
And an artist
Who has no need for these self-employed gods.
No need...
During your Islamic prostests.
No need...
In your melting put of colorful language.
No need...
As the sirens wail two blocks
Down
And the schizophrenic covers his ears.
Ticks...
And screams back
"Hurry up!
Go save 'em already.
You're giving me a migraine!
Save them!
Save me!"
Do you see me Toronto?
I'm defending your city now.
Looking down from uneven rooftops.
This machine kills common dominance.
Do you see me?
Now you don't.
------------------
This post is late.
And, yes, I know that the punctuation is bad in the poem. It's not my usual style. I don't feel like editing today.
I arrived in Toronto a couple days ago, and the city is nothing short of beautiful. The only problems that I had (besides the fact that customs thought that the place where I am staying [Victoria University] didn't exist) was that I forgot about things like the metric system.
I really dig the monopoly money. And the city is really clean compared to Philly. People are pretty friendly too. I distinctly remember being awestruck while I was driving across the border because I was anticipating the adventure. I was ready to start my class. But, more importantly, I was ready to get my certificate for the Arrowsmith Program and get back home.
I wrote the poem after my first full day. This city has poetry crawling up its skyscrapers, and down its subway lines.
It's funny how nobody notices.
We'll see what I notice as the next two weeks go by.
I love you, Katie.
~Torres
