Observations and Reflections From Walking Along Vancouver’s Sea Wall: A Poem
Observations and Reflections From Walking Along Vancouver’s Sea Wall: A Poem
I walked along the Vancouver Sea Wall yesterday
from English Bay around the edges of Stanley Park to the Burrard Inlet and then downtown
Because I realized in 4 years of living in Vancouver
I never walked it
It was a cool cloudy day
which was good
never pleasant to long walk in intense heat
A strong wind blew along the path as I walked
Waves crashed on to the shore
Symbolic I thought of the state of affairs for myself and many of my friends and the world at large
As I turned the bend where I could catch a glimpse of the city of West Vancouver on the other side of the Burrard Inlet
There was a huge rock on the water
that stood in front of the shore
And there was a modeling photo shoot going on
A very beautiful woman wearing a white wedding dress stood against the rock
as the wind blew and the waves crashed against the back of the rock
It made for a very interesting photo
And I wondered,
Does this mean getting married
is equivalent to ending up on the rocks
as sea and storm and wind and waves crash around you?
No doubt my married friends would be able to tell me whether this is so.
-A poem written by Christopher
Tuesday July 5th 2016.
Haiku About 2nd Day of Spring At Vancouver’s English Bay
Haiku About 2nd Day of Spring At Vancouver’s English Bay
Down at English Bay
sun is high but breeze is cold
typical March day
Cerberus and Pan Goatee In Vancouver
Cerberus and Pan Goatee In Vancouver
Pan Goatee had been reading all the Sydney Seagull poems that Dracul Van Helsing had written.
So he decided to go to Vancouver and see this strange eccentric bird for himself.
But after astral projecting himself to English Bay, he frightened off all the seagulls since he was carrying his astral machete with him.
Most of the humans on the beach were too stoned to be frightened by his astral machete.
Either that or they were pointing at it and saying in a brain dead zombie like voice, “Wow. That’s really cool, man.”
Pan Goatee who shared the Ancient Greek passion for true intellectual contemplation of the Realm of Platonic Forms thought these idiots were incapable of it and so beheaded them all thus reducing the amount of support for the Yes side in a possible B.C. Provincial Referendum on Marijuana Decriminalization to say nothing of reducing the base of support for Justin Trudeau’s Canadian Federal Liberal Party.
Since Pan Goatee did not know his way around Vancouver, he decided to call a halt to his astral projection and ride the Vancouver Transit System that all the travel books raved about.
But seeing as how today was the second round of the Honda Celebration of Light Vancouver Fireworks Festival Competition (and the host country of Canada was tonight’s competitor) the buses in Vancouver were full of $&@!ing people much to Pan Goatee’s disgust.
He went around beheading people left, right and centre (and even totally apathetic when it came to the political spectrum) in a one half-man half-goat attempt to make a dent in the world’s 7 billion population mark.
He tried boarding the next bus because the one he was on although now empty stank to high-heaven.
That one too was crowded- this one filled with people going to the Justin Timberlake concert being held tonight in Vancouver.
Pan Goatee raged, “Justin Timberlake? I hate that guy for making Britney Spears cry.”
Although he had only been genetically created this year, a recent well-done documentary on MTV that he had watched had brought him up to speed on the music scene of the past 20 years.
Sadly his astral machete now required sharpening and there wasn’t an astral sharpening saw in sight.
He happened to see the 3-headed dog Cerberus astral project on to the scene.
Cerberus actually wanted to astral project to the Palace of Westminster in London, England but he made the mistake of asking a recently reformed alcoholic (who had only sworn off booze a few days before) for directions.
And this was where he wound up- in downtown Vancouver British Columbia.
“Cerberus,” Pan Goatee cried out to him, “this bus is full of damned souls aka Justin Timberlake fans. Come and eat them.”
Cerberus wagged his tail in a friendly fashion as he hadn’t had anything to eat in several days.
He boarded the bus and with his 3 heads that all required a carnivourous non-vegetarian diet bit and chewed and swallowed anyone and everyone in sight.
In the aftermath, all that was left on the bus was a lot of blood and a bunch of bodiless Justin Timberlake shirts.
To be continued.
-A vampire novel chapter
written by Christopher
Wednesday July 31st 2013.
A Tale of Two Tides
In mid-afternoon a very very very low tide
the water is way out
the children’s water slide
is a water slide no more
but a slide on dry land.
Stirling Stork is down in the low-lying water
Stirling Stork who only makes his appearance
when it’s low-tide.
And rocks which can’t be seen at high tide are there
jutting out on the beach.
And there on the rocks sits Sidney Seagull
like a glass of fine malt whisky.
Evening and the tide is high
Blondie should be singing her song now.
High tide
the children’s water slide
is a water slide again.
Stirling Stork is nowhere to be seen
Stirling Stork who only makes his appearance
when it’s low-tide.
And the rocks are nowhere to be seen
but buried beneath the waves like Atlantis.
And Sidney Seagull is likewise gone
like a glass of fine malt whisky in W. C. Fields’ hand.
-A poem written by Christopher
Saturday night
July 13th 2013
based on what he observed at
2 different times of day
mid-afternoon and late evening
at English Bay, Vancouver, British Columbia
on this day.
Children’s Joy On The Beach
Once more it is the ending of another day
and the sun is again setting on English Bay.
A little girl splashes her feet in the waves
this moment in life- no doubt among her faves
her little brother kicks his feet in the sand
full of joy and fun and life playfully grand
They dance and sing and hold hands
among the sea water and shining sands
the sky above is a sparkling shade of blue
a promising sign of all things new
a seagull lands on the beach
just within the little girl’s reach
she runs up to say, “Hello.”
But gull says “I’ve gotta go”
and away he flies into the crimson gold sunset sky
not once turning around to say good-bye.
The girl waves so long to her shy new friend
and her dance in the waves soon begins again.
The children’s mother stands up and looks at her watch
for the sun has slipped below the horizon far more than a notch.
She goes to her children and motions them to come
they run to her and both of them hug their mom.
Yes, the sun has finally laid down and gone to sleep in the west
it’s time for them to go home and have their own time to rest.
-A poem written by Christopher
Friday night July 12th 2013
based on what he observed this evening
at English Bay, Vancouver, British Columbia
Hula Hoop Dancer On The Beach
Hula hoop girl dancing on the beach
her colourful summer floral skirt flirls
around with the hoop.
The disc of the sun is setting
and the disc of the hoop goes faster and faster
around her hips
around her legs
around her arms
around her feet
a hula hoop dance impresario
dancing in the summer sun.
She dances with joy
she dances with carefree abandon
she is a child of the sun
a child of the sky
a child of the sea
she dances with joy
she dances to be
she dances like one
in the dance of the free.
-A poem written by Christopher
Tuesday night July 9th 2013
based on what he observed this evening
at English Bay, Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada Day On English Bay
An armada of Canada geese float by
giving their own Pride Parade a try
a streak of white feathery cloud
soars above the Maple Leaf so proud
as if it was put there by a winged unicorn
giving hope to those who feel forlorn.
And golden red embers seem to burn in the sky
as if sky elves created a campfire so high
and from the fire a billowy white phoenix seems to rise
to a former self having said its good-byes
it embraces a new dawn at sunset
embracing a new form without regret
and on the beach people of every race, faith and nationality
who see in one another a common humanity
in a place where dreams become reality
a land God made for you and me
a land God intended to be free.
-A poem written by Christopher
Monday July 1st 2013
at English Bay, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada.
Late June Evening On English Bay
An evening in late June
summer has come at last
waves pound the shore
sounding a joyful blast
and here on English Bay
as the sun departs from day
endless sea and endless sky
stretches below that golden eye
rays of gold and purple hue
cling to the sky like an evening dew
a horizon that stretches neverendingly
here on golden waves that crown silver sea.
-A poem written by Christopher
Sunday evening
June 30th 2013
Distant Horizon
Distant horizon on English Bay
Sunlight streaking through clouds so gray
emitting a beautiful golden ray
saying adieu to the end of day.
-A poem written by Christopher
Tuesday evening
June 25th 2013
Cinco de Mayo Summer Day In Vancouver
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!
After going to Church this morning, I spent the day on the beach at English Bay where it was a glorious sunshiney day.
Since coming to Vancouver, one thing I’ve noticed while eating in restaurants here is that people often take photos of their lunches and dinners prior to eating them.
It’s a habit that hasn’t really caught on in Edmonton at the time I left it last October.
However it’s probably big elsewhere as it is in Vancouver because this would explain why photos from my Facebook friends from all over the world often have photos of food and drink.
They take photos before they eat or drink what they’re having.
I remember in one Korean restaurant I was in about a week ago, I wondered if the food was going to get cold because there was a group of 20 people sitting at one table. And everybody was taking a photo of everyone else’s plate of food as well as their own. Nobody started eating until all the photos were taken.
Memo to myself: Remember to eat something before the meal if I’m ever invited to a large group gathering eating out because I might die of starvation by the time everyone finishes taking their smart phone photos of everyone’s dish.
This will probably give rise to the expression “photogenic food”.
Anyways while I was at the beach, there was this guy and girl who sat down on the log next to me and both of them had ice cream cones.
The girl took out her smart phone and was trying to line up the perfect picture to take of her ice cream cone- something difficult to do while holding an ice cream cone in one hand and a smart phone in the other.
Anyways it was a hot summer day on the beach and she was taking so long to take the perfect photo of her ice cream cone (no doubt to upload to her friends on Facebook) that the ice cream cone started to melt.
Pretty soon it was really melting all over the place.
“Oh shoot,” the girl said, “I can’t take a picture of this now. It’s melted all over the place.”
Anyways her boyfriend finally grabbed her smart phone and took a photo of both her and the melted ice cream cone.
An image that will no doubt live in posterity on someone’s Facebook page.
Later in the early evening I went to a bar and had a refreshing drink to cool down.
People who read my vampire novel and my short stories no doubt have noticed that I love making up and telling my own puns.
Anyways the bar was quite busy tonight.
There were 3 bartenders on and they were trying to fill all the drink orders.
Then one girl called out to the other two and said, “Will someone please grab me another Caesar?”.
Note to my American readers: A Caesar is a popular drink up here in Canada. It’s made of vodka and clamato juice (Clamato is a combination of clam and tomato juice- I’ve been told that Clamato juice isn’t so popular in the U.S. and hence a Caesar is a uniquely Canadian drink).
Anyways as soon as this girl said, “Will someone please grab me another Caesar?”, I immediately piped up, “That’s what a Roman general once said when the latest Roman Emperor had just been assassinated by his own Praetorian Guard, will someone please grab me another Caesar?”.
And that dear friends is how I spent my Cinco de Mayo summer day in Vancouver.
Dracul Van Helsing 