stopping by knife | fork | book, hoping to catch kirby by Pearl Pirie

I go to centre myself with like-book-minded,
and find the shop empty, with a “be back in 10” sticky sign.
the coffee cup’s on the table, and I can nearly see its steam,
past the delicious of CanLits’ small press rainbow spines.

a retro lamp glows inside. walk past sweet Olenka’s gelato, 
Oxford Season Wear, the way lit by doobies and guitar buskers.
I snug into Pow Wow Cafe and wait with an Ojibway taco.
with a happy bellyful, check if Sparklepony has returned.

from the pair of fu dogs, and from the globe on Dundas St W,
still I look back as if I could spot your smile’s borealis.
streetlight pollution, so no. I’ll swing by again tomorrow.
all I see are bouquets carried your way. to you, all the laurels.

This poem was featured in Issue 07 of Canthius.

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Pearl Pirie’s 4th poetry collection, footlights (Radiant Press, 2020) is “lyric grief-work, and joy-work, loss, resilience and finding small beauties.” Her newest chapbook is Not Quite Dawn (Éditions des petits nuages, March, 2020). Her epistle haibun chapbook, Water loves its bridges: comes in Dec 2020 from The Alfred Gustav Press by subscription.