Flowering

Fraser Street

When I was a kid

I thought "Fraser Street"

Consisted of only 9 blocks

It was its own little town

The entrance at 41st

Right in front of John Oliver

And the exit at 49th

Right beside Starbucks

With a giant bubble surrounding it

I loved being at Fraser Street

Enjoyed the pathway to it even more

Speeding through the neighbourhoods

On my scooter up from Main Street

Helmet tightly secured

Mom always chasing me

Telling me not to cross without her

Always screeching to a halt

Putting the brakes on my adrenaline

Took pleasure in pit stops

at MacDonald Park

Leaving my scooter beside

A bird-pooped bench

To enter my new imagination

Heading straight for the swings

Cramped seat connected to chains

Closing my eyes as I rose

To feel what it was like to fly

Then somehow landing

Dab smack in the middle

Of little old Fraser town

I guess time flies with you too

Feels like I'm in yummy Food Land

Dairy Queen cherry slush

Fresh $10 box of cheesy Caesar's

An Asian grocery store on every block

(Aka, many Asian snacks to sneak into mom's cart)

My loyalty to Green Leaf

The best bubble tea in town

The only bubble tea

I swore I'd ever buy

They taught me that maturing

Was going from spitting out pearls

To ordering without pearls

To learning to love pearls

I'd like a mango ice cream with pearls, please

Piano lessons on 45th

We have a love-hate relationship

It's fun to tickle the ivories

But my brain could never understand it

Who would've thought that older me

Would one day end up teaching there

Little me would cry and wonder how

I'd tell her I don't know

I've never felt qualified (still don't)

But I loved being at Fraser Street

And even now I still do

Even though the bubble's popped

And it's grown out to be much bigger

Then my little brain had ever thought

Because I can still see it through

The colourful childlike tint

Left behind on the lens of my glasses

And I smile from the warmth of nostalgia