Late afternoon, another day is nearly done. A darker gray is
breaking through a lighter one. A thousand sharpened elbows
in the underground. That hollow hurried sound of feet on
polished floor, and in the Dollar Store the clerk is closing up,
and counting Loonies, trying not to say, "I hate Winnipeg."
The driver checks the mirror, seven minutes late. The
crowded riders' restlessness enunciates that the Guess Who
suck, the Jets were lousy anyway. The same route every day.
And in the turning lane, someone's stalled again. He's talking
to himself, and hears the price of gas repeat his phrase: "I
hate Winnipeg." And up above us all, leaning into sky, our
Golden Business Boy will watch the North End die, and sing "I
love this town," then let his arcing wrecking ball proclaim, "I
hate Winnipeg."