Ontario, Canada is one of my favorite places in the world. We’ve visited the area a number of times over the years and every trip has yielded great memories. One of my favorite visits was our trip to Toronto in 2005. Z. was just over one year old and the four of us – with Z. in her stroller – came to know the city well, opting to travel from place to place mostly on foot and through the use of the city’s subway system. In our short time in Toronto, we came to appreciate the omnipresence of hospitality and diversity on the streets of the city.While visiting Niagara Falls in 2008, I reflected a bit on the trip to Toronto as well as on all of our visits to the area from years past. I had been reading a lot of Allen Ginsberg’s work around this time and – although I’m not comparing my work to his – I can honestly say that I felt his influence as I sat at the desk in our hotel room one night. With that in mind, I took pen in hand and wrote about my appreciation for Canada in verse.
Our northern excursions have been on my mind again lately, especially because I now enjoy regular correspondence with a number of friends who live throughout Canada. Up to now, the only person with whom I’ve ever shared a single one of my poems is Thomaï. She always been kind to me, which is something I truly appreciate. However, I am certain that the support and encouragement of one’s spouse is not really the most accurate gauge as to the quality one's particular work. So, I thought that now might be as good a time as any to share this poem with everyone who might be interested in knowing something of my affection for Canada and its people.
Canada, I Love You
Canada, I love you
for your Loonies and Toonies,
and your healthcare for everyone,
and how you told America to “suck it” over the wars.
I love you for your Horseshoe Falls,
for your legions of French-speakers,
and all your diversity on the streets.
For your Maple Leafs,
and the mother of three
who said, “Look at the fireworks, eh!”
I love you for your “No tax on Maple Syrup!”
and your QEW,
and for the stand against WTO in Montréal.
I love you for your cosmopolitan cities,
with your street-corners full of congregations:
men of faith, break-dancers and drummers,
Hekmatists spreading the word,
men holding hands on the subway,
black folks, asians, “whitefolk” –
melting together in a river of humanity.
Canada, you are not the United States of America,
and I love you for it.
23 July 2008; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
[Revised 31 July - 1 August 2009; Dayton, Ohio]
