We Were Early to Occupy

by Ben Robinson

K and  I  took   the  bus  up  to   Toronto
because  our   town   was   too  small  to
protest   in.   You  can’t  occupy a  place
that   nobody   else    wants.   We    came
expecting  megaphones  and  riot   gear
but  found   an  empty   park,  two   men
playing   chess   beneath   a  streetlight.
Wanting  to get warm,  we  ended up  at
the Eaton Centre among  the  shoppers.
A small group gathered out front of the
Apple Store —  the   storefront  covered
in    fluorescent     post-it     notes    with
messages   written on  them  like:  We’ll
miss      a     really      great      leader!    and
Thanks    for    programming    the    future.
As   we   were  about   to   leave,  a   small
child  ran  up, printed  her  name  in  big
messy letters and stuck  her  bright  slip
to the window with all the others.

— from Juniper Volume 3, Issue 3