as I explore victoria, i've been reading Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums which makes for a fine companion when you're travelling alone. The book reads like an odd parallel to my own adventures. As he's stowing away on steamships, I'm loading on to the ferry. As he jumps from boulder to boulder, climbing a west coast mountain, singing the praises of the beauties of the wilderness, I'm jumping from boulder to boulder as I'm tracing the shoreline of a west coast island, singing similar praises myself in my head. As he contemplates the meaning of Buddhism, I see the meditative chant OM written in grafitti in a park. I've gotten to the part where he's making up haikus with his friend while climbing the mountain. I've started writing haikus of my own, mainly because I lost my notebook and can only keep track of three lines at a time in my head.
FAN TAN ALLEY
eating in the oldest Chinatown in Canada
still the only Asian in the restaurant
other than the waitress
BC HOSTEL
my hostel room comes with
a fridge a locker a table
complemenary rolling papers
HYGEINE PRIORITIZATION
really wish I didn't forget soap on this journey
now I must choose which body parts
need washing most
HYGEINE part II
peacocks and palm trees in Beacon Hill Park
i weave flowers into my hair
now I look like a hippie, and am just as greasy
