Imbuing the occasion with an air of solemnity, he asked me to raise my right hand and, in view of the US flag which he pointed to on the pole behind him, had me recite the oath of renunciation. And then it was done. He took my passport, and I walked out onto Sussex Drive past the safety bollards the embassy had put up after 9/11. A local coffee shop beckoned, and I went in, set to ponder what I’d just experienced …
Bio:
Ken Victor’s last essay in Queen’s Quarterly (126/3), “Belief, Belonging, and Behaviour,” explored the context and assumptions behind Quebec’s Bill 21. His collection of poetry We Were Like Everyone Else appeared in 2019 (Cormorant Books).