Tuesday poem #405 : William Vallières : SOLITUDES

 

 

When I was old enough to ask
I asked my dad the difference
apart from language, of course
between us and les anglais.

“Apart from language, apart from language…”
He took my hand, led me down Dundas
and ordered from a vendor
a hot dog, all dressed.

He placed it in my hand.
“Out here, no matter where you go
when you order a hot dog
the hot dog bun comes cold.

A cold hot dog bun, you see that?”
I looked down
considered its dry mouthfuls
the horrible walls of bread.

“Now, eat it,” dad said.
And I sat on a bench
and chewed and chewed on it
and everything was clear.

 

 

 

William Vallières is a Montreal poet. His first book of poems, Versus, is out now with Véhicule Press. His work has appeared in Best Canadian Poetry 2019, The Walrus, Event, Grain, and Plenitude.

the Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan