Craig Space: Poetry: Derek Fazakas, "Crossing Front Campus Tonight"

Crossing Front Campus Tonight

By Derek Fazakas

I distantly knew Derek Fazakas from the Sir Daniel Wilson residence at the University of Toronto, years ago. He didn't seem the type to write poetry, but he was a thoughtful, contemplative kind of guy. I've no idea what he's up to.

If you wanted to know, front campus is the large, circular green playing field in front of University College, at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada.

For some reason, I always liked this piece. I'm not quite sure why.

Crossing front campus tonight I
Found myself stumbling over frozen footprints
Left from this afternoon, or perhaps the afternoon before.

They were meandering,
Criss-crossing and running,
And some stopped to talk, leaving marked out
Circles and nervously kicked grooves in the snow.

There were straight intentional lines
That cut across everything,
And there was a darting, slipping motion; the
Chaos of
A snowball fight. But

All were slient in the cold darkness
And the slush was rock-solid. My own walking
Was bumpy and uncomfortable,
And I was aware that
My boots made no prints in
The frozen terrain.

Source: the University College Literary Review (U.C. Review), Spring, 1991. Printed by Coach House Press.

Poetry

Craig Space