A little cold, little wet,
a little tired and yet
I am here. Still,
full of wonder.
The morning chill leaves
little to the imagination
and much less
to hope for.
Expected, perhaps, as it
always is, this time, this
season is only what
we ask of it.
11/21/2024 j.g.l.
The answers are far less certain
than even last week, to all those
perennial questions or solutions
you might seek.
What do you believe, or
what do you believe in?
Come Monday, you have fewer
questions than you had last week.
For a while there are less doubts
in what you believe.
Whom do you believe in,
and who believes in you?
11/18/2024 j.g.l.
We want to know what
we don’t know, or hadn’t thought of,
or forgot.
What mattered then,
or what mattered when, shifts over time.
We notice.
Perception is what you don’t see.
Deception is what know.
You see it differently through your aloneness.
The truth behind a lie,
you question how and why.
It made sense.
Anticipation keeps us waiting
for only so long. Will it matter
if you felt it never did?
© 2021 j.g. lewis
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
It has taken a pandemic to cast eyes on the issue of homelessness in Toronto
Seeing the problem is easy. Fixing it, apparently, is not.
With COVID-19 and dangers of its spread, along with respecting social distancing, space in city shelters has been dramatically reduced over past months. Some temporary respite shelter space has been set up, and reportedly city agencies were offering space in some hotels, but there simply is not the available space to handle an issue of this magnitude.
For weeks now, tents have been popping up in a couple of downtown parks. These encampments continue to grow. There are close to 50 tents set up on any given day in Moss Park.
Each morning I walk by the encampment. I see the garbage spread across the grass, the feces and piss puddles in surrounding lanes, and the used needles on the sidewalk.
It’s not healthy for either the campers or for the community.
There was a recent stabbing in the park, the victim listed in serious condition. Police reports do not indicate an arrest.
But the Toronto Police do report one of the tents was being used to “prepare and sell drugs.” A week old news release indicates a quantity of Fentanyl was seized along with cocaine, cash, and a loaded Smith and Wesson semi-automatic firearm.
Three people were arrested.
And the tents remain.
I’m like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.