Winnipeg Arts Council

This City (excerpt)

I have lived here longer than where I was born
I walk along its concrete trails
Paths have led me through back alley dreams
Still my visions take me back
That place where the river blessed me
I could dive down deep within that clear cold water
Stretch my arms out to touch bottom
But I never could and over time
That clear cold water became cloudy
No longer clear
No longer life giving
No longer blessed
Now I haunt the urban landscape
Searching for another song
One I heard as a child
Has faded by city sounds and sirens in the night
Reaching the place where the city ends
All I see is an unending horizon
I always turn back
Face east, west , south but never north
I have left that place
I have placed my tobacco on these sidewalks
To claim this city as my home


Created for The Drift video series by Ice River Films
(c) 2018 Duncan Mercredi