“Never go anywhere
Without a porpoise”
Words of advice from
Her smiling mouth
Or was that purpose?
It matters not, she
Artfully ignores
Her own rules
Either way.

Dawdling is her
favorite pastime,
trailing behind, one
foot in front of other,
down the crowded
streets and alleys
she refused to call home
(Put the girl in the city,
not the city in the girl)

Pulls me into startling
new ideas, ideals even,
pools of thought,
stores and boutiques
just to say, “Look,
see? you cannot
trust the known”
And thrusts me out
into the light again

Commas are obsolete:
no waiting for her,
not waiting for me
as she skips ahead
(Flips the page)
Her pink scarf
lingers as she
disappears into
Toronto-coloured slush