march 14th, 2025

i saw two park rangers at grandview park today. i was walking with my friend, matcha tea in hand and a bouquet of flowers. the rangers were watching a man dismantle his tent and pack up his belongings. before i can stop myself it begins, my tirade: “hey bozos! why don’t you get a real job and provide something meaningful to the community instead of wearing the ugliest green i’ve ever seen to humankind, maybe show some humanity and unpick that wedgie so far up your —“ and then my friend stops me with a cackle. a head thrown back howl and we begin to point at them and laugh. this city can be the most beautiful thing one could ever see in their life while also being marred by the insistent colonial cruelty available. the police budget far superseding the one for public transit, libraries and housing, you know pockets are deeper in city hall than ever before. “get a real job bozos!“ my friend hollers too, chiding me at the fact that she hasn’t heard that word in forever. “i was raised by folks many generations older than my own. i like insults that hurt them, like calling them posers.“ i smirk, the smile feels good on my face as we watch the rangers retreat to their car. on commercial drive, anything can happen. i mean anything. when the sun sets and the white neighbours flee to their owned homes, we come out. my friends watch the full moon lunar eclipse and admire the moon’s captivating beauty while giving folks cigarettes. a rally can march down the drive any day, any time, the place can hold the variety of the human experience. all the grief! all the grace! a great & terrible beauty all in one place wrapped up in an italian flag bow, but many of us know commercial drive isn’t little italy, it’s the collision of coalescing, the many handed and many faced beauties that take it in stride, tight lipped and pilling sweaters, sizzling meat and cacophonous noise and every so often you’ll hear some queers at grandview park calling a couple of park rangers bozos.

jaye simpson (she/they) is an Indigiqueer/Two-Spirit artist living in Vancouver.