New York City
One eighty 
I travel the
Paczki road 
Rustbelt to greenbelt 
Fireworks at 70 mph
Cheese curds
Montana not Hannah
Guns and fishing rods 
Stand side by side
Near faithful Joe
Who carries me 
Past midnight
Big deer, wee hours
When one crosses
There's bound
To be another 
BRAKE
Thanks be to Jesus
Whom I haven’t met
Yet
Cypress Hills 
Cowboys and contrast
Nostalgia to dystopia
Fentanyl skies
Tent cities and meth 
Shopping carts and twitches
Wild fires and Aurora Borealis
Intrepid city slicker
Whose viewfinder
Contemplates leagues
Major to minor 
A ghetto bird
Blades whirring 
Flies overhead
Presence
A pint of stout 
Open spaces
Nature
Oh-my prairie
Heart 
Is home.

Darcia Parada is a writer, director, producer and performer. A former McCauley resident who moved to Brooklyn, NY during the pandemic, she has recently returned to Edmonton and now lives just south in Boyle Street.