Poetry

Sunday Morning Sidewalk

HENRY DOYLE

It’s God’s day off and mine too.

There are tents on every block and back alley now.

As I walk down sidewalks cleared by rain

to get a coffee and newspaper,

I complain to myself about the price of the paper.

But I need that crossword.

Maybe this time I will finish it, although I never do.

In front of the Ovaltine restaurant, a 5 1/2 foot woman

in a drenched grey hoodie weaves and flails

through Hastings Street traffic

like a scarecrow  in the wind.

Horns blare at her “I don’t give a shit” smile.

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HENRY DOYLE

Henry Doyle has been working as a custodian and maintenance worker in shelters and SROs on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver since 2008. He now works in the biggest shelter in North America. Anvil Press published his debut collection, No Shelter, in 2021.


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