Toronto map by Ork Posters! City Neighborhoods
Maps fascinate me — interesting street names, and tiny pockets of neighbourhoods I’ve never visited, teeny towns named Coriander and Merrywell, and then the fact that they are impossible to re-fold…
I recently taught a workshop in Kitchener, Ontario through Pathways Education and a bunch of exceptional 14-year-olds and I wrote poems using maps of their neighbourhoods. We used the idea of Jane’s Walk and narrated walks they do everyday through poetry. It was an extraordinary evening.
~
Empty parking spots
like missing teeth,
a wide grin.
White lines keep the asphalt organized
as the light switches
red green
red green.
And in the ditch,
puddles of broken bottles
and dandelions
that have not yet turned into wishes.
The sidewalk curves like a dinner plate,
a bike locked to a peeling railing,
the back tire flat.
~
ps: The fuzzy map of Toronto is a screen print by Ork Posters!
