I have seen the future, and it is Toronto
    - Chris Sorrenti, 1978


I saw her once
And like all the others
Fell for her body
But not her mind
She was indifferent
To just another traveler
Out for a cheap thrill
Up the CN Tower

It’s easy for a lady
To take her beauty for granted
Losing interest in admirers
Eventually turning vain
Some of her citizens
Thinking the world turns around Metro
And in many ways certainly does
While raising the Stars & Stripes
In size and architecture

I’m not going to kid myself
Into believing she needs me
But I can wash her back
If she scratches mine
No matter how cold
Within her canyons of steel and concrete
Lies that street to fame and fortune
Sanctuary from the monetary vulture and wolf

Success but an embryo waiting
In the twinkle of her eyes
Where a steady stream of images and words
Flow to a silver lining
Wrapped around her Ontario shore
Somewhere up ahead
I know that I will find her
At the end of a gold paved highway
Heading south to a lover named Toronto


© 1984
Photo © 1978 by author, taken from the CN Tower
Inputted and revised © 2020






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10/02/2020

Author's Note: TO = Abbreviated slang for Toronto. When my wife and I were married, we didn’t take a honeymoon. Having our own place and privacy together was honeymoon enough for us at the time. On our 5th anniversary, we decided to make up for it, by driving down and spending a few days in Toronto. Booked into a nice hotel, downtown, we played tourist, eating well, taking in the local sights. This poem was inspired by that experience. The opening quote was inspired by my first trip to TO in 1978.

Posted on 10/02/2020
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti