Our cities allowance of prescribed greenery,
the sparse trees bowing to colonial concrete.
A pond for people-watching.
Preening, water-slick drakes with their white button downs.
Sandalwood and bourbon, the scent of wholesale masculinity,
corkscrewing their way into the night.
Quacks echoing down the city streets.
A gig-economy bee‒
Eyes fixated on his mobile compass.
The buzz of his peddles,
stopping at nothing less than sweet three-dollar nectar.
The second shift community.
Daytime structures serving their second purpose,
nesting the nighttime songbirds.
Elaborate plumage, ritualistic calls.
Weaving complex structures of plastic and paper.
Trading feathers and stones.
Chirping frantically into the night.
Naturalistic observance‒
Nightfall in a parkette
SONIA VINTAN is a Toronto-adjacent poet keener. Their work is deeply personal and based on every intrusive observation. You can find some poetry across various copies of Black Sails’ zine “Kitchen Party” and in the audio poetry documentary “Summer Break Mixtape” by Page Records.