01-07-2025
The
new year brought rain
then
sleet, a seesaw drizzle
slanted
to either side of freezing.
And
with the stiff-boned damp, ice
levelled
dusk; the stoneware sky broke brittle
with
neutral tones, except for the crayon
orange-and-yellow
signs of Pizza Pizza
and
Dollarama. Then sub-zero,
overnight,
a brocade of frost
on
storefront glass. He died in
a
doorway, his home a thin
sleeping
bag in a city of rooms.
David O'Meara is the author of five poetry collections and the novel Chandelier. He is the current Poet Laureate (anglophone) of Ottawa, Canada.
