
Frozen plains — fallow beneath,
Sheets of white — Tremblant fingers
— sprawl — solemn forest —
End of the world — bay groaning,
beyond horizon — imagination, dances
within mind — time stops in speeding headlights
— kilometres are inside miles — leather
Wrapped under hand — under gleaming
tips; fingers — nervous outside Sorrell
Sainted Arabian knight — spills past Old Port,
Needle-clad arms — hanging boughs
on Joseph’s shoulders — bells ring for deaf,
Blind — murals gleaming, gilded
in darkness — beacon gleams,
over prostrated steps of faithful —
Plateau — colonial balconies,
wrought iron — mobiles and stairwells,
Winter bellowing in searing streets —
First floor refuge in Saint Philip.
DEP — rooftops and beer — chips, all-dressed—
Ottawa waves blow down — fifth wheels,
Seeking shelter — abandoned in drifts —
Eighteen-wheeled schooners sail on soft shoulders,
white knuckles gleam — alone,
— ten hours to Toronto.