January

January in Toronto.

Days the colour of concrete.

They seem to encircle you, these days.

I am up early for an appointment and am standing on the sidewalk waiting for my ride. The day is just now lightening, and two squirrels chase one another on the street before me. It seems more than playful, it seems joyous. As if a time of liberty before the human world rises up to dominate this still floating morning.

People, crisply dressed for work, begin to exit homes. Fresh and unsullied, they’re putting their best foot forward. They’re going to crush meetings. They’re going to fall in love. They’re going to be kind. They’re going to do better than they did yesterday. Each one of them hopeful, still free from the accumulations and defeats of the day, still their best version of themselves. And above a blue sky opening up, a blue sky stretching over us all, and if that isn’t optimism I don’t know what is.