Vancouver’s Commercial Drive is arguably one of the city’s most diverse neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood has a rich history of migration, restaurants that serve cuisines from around the world, and a safe haven for small businesses. This one-of-a-kind neighbourhood in the Pacific Northwest is proof that rich cultural tapestries and communities can exist and continue to thrive in the ever-changing landscape of urban development and living.

“Pondering on the drive” is inspired by the sights, sounds, businesses, memories, history, and people of Commercial Drive. Commercial Drive’s development and history have been shaped by migration, displacement, colonialism, urban innovation, art, and poverty. This poem takes you through the highs and lows of this vibrant street and community. Through the lens of urban living, development, and charged senses when taking in urban life, it attempts to remind urban dwellers that simple pleasures still exist in the fast-paced rhythms and reality of city life.

Park Drive, The Drive, Little Italy, Commercial Drive,
Name changes, people changes, land changes,
The Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Wautuh,
Turned to avenue changes, street changes, stories uncovered through changes,

Potlatch paths, black beer, and deer paths,
Make way for railway tracks and streetcar lines,
A line of people whose only hope is welfare paths,
No need for the Expo and Millennium Lines,

I met a love on Italian Days,
The dress she wore was as bright as the sun,
The crowds were dancing while we were dazed,
To the tune of a first kiss surrounded by enormous fun,

Time stopped in this heightened state,
But we moved to the tune of other sensory pleasures,
A gelato, a za, a fusion kebab was all worth the wait,
Sweetened by the sound of a live trumpet and a symphony of other tuned leisures,

Then reality hit with the smell and sound of a crack pipe being lit,
Turn to the right to see Big Rob begging for food,
People still ate, danced, sang, and rejoiced,
Because moments of urban bliss can be few and far between,

What would ancient spirits that roamed this land say?
Trading berries, obsidian tools, and ochre,
To beaver pelts and grease from eulachon fish,
They’ll say, why bring riches from afar when all was so near?

The great wars brought to The Drive people from other ancient lands,
Where dynasties rose and died,
Where the emperor Nero grew mad,
Where an iron curtain suppressed expression,

New hope, beginnings, culture, and change,
Ingredients for urban growth and tales,
Even though they bring ones begging for change,
This Drive chugs on with modern living, all hail!

Migration, grand plans of development,
Blue collar hub and small business hub,
Protests for those around the world without a hub,
But some just peruse The Drive because it’s a foodie hub,

Vegan lovers love The Burrow for breakfast and Mexican delights,
But when soup is required for winter might,
A bowl of pho at Viet Family set the vegans upright,
Matched with a Sweet Cherubim sweet treat, sending one to new heights,

Auntie Jen’s Pizzeria on Monday,
Harambe Ethiopian Restaurant on Tuesday,
Jamjar Canteen for Lebanese on Thursday,
The dimly lit Bar Corso for date night on Saturday,

But please bring some change on Commercial Drive,
Because Ricardo spits passionate verses while blowing his horn,
Sammy’s rendition of Landslide will make you mourn,
And Stella just wants change for home and not to be so forlorn,

You see them at the Sky Train station,
Engaging passersby with last wills and testaments of determination,
But just as with all the people in our lives,
We are all meant to just pass each other by,

So while you’re living and kicking,
Take in a sculpture or a sketch,
The Equinox and Art Works Gallery, while kissing,
And on to Womyn’s Ware for a Fuckwater lube batch,

Also, remember when on the Drive,
To look at posters on lamp posts for thrills and highs,
For naughty strip teases and cabaret shows,
Revived plays by out-of-luck actors searching for meaning and new lows,

Remember the potlatches and the timbermen,
Remember when modern buildings caused awe and thrills,
Streets were young once but maybe now middle-aged,
In the end, they are also keepers of how we age,

Financial collapse to real estate boom,
Vancouver skyline views from the Social,
Poets, improvisers, and artists still loom,
Even though they said goodbye to dreams and being social,

Commercial Drive, Commercial Drive,
20 blocks of wealth, poverty, protest, and scattered yoga moms,
Heritage houses and the downtrodden, shooting happy liquid in their veins,
While the hipsters sip on their coffee, watching a march for peace,

Commercial Drive, Commercial Drive,
Got an award for being a cool street,
Diversity, multiculturalism,
But what’s next?

Commercial Drive, Commercial Drive,
Upper class, middle class, and the unwanted class,
The forgotten rainbow class knows they are the top class,
Not knowing we are all becoming an urban class,

But if I’m to be urban living,
It’s got to be on The Drive,
Because for this moment in time,
A little bit of chaos, plight, dreams, choices, grinds, and smiles, suit me just fine.

Commercial Drive is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Wautuh Nations.