There’s a man – Paul, his name is. I’d see him at the JCC where I used to work out on Tuesdays and Fridays before going to campus. He’s some sort of defrocked minister – there was a big scandal. A few years ago, his face was in the papers, but that was before he started coming in. To be honest, I get all these problematic middle-aged men and their crimes confused. It’s always either sex or money. This guy, I think, was sex. Maybe parishioners? I don’t know. I’m sure I could have looked him up if I’d cared to. I just knew him as Paul, whose locker was down the row from mine.
Paul was a swimmer, and I like the bike, so I’d only see him once we’d both finished and were recovering ourselves in the steam room and shower. He was a good locker-room neighbour, never sprawled out too much on the benches, made room when you passed, that sort of thing. I never had a problem with him. I’d give a nod, ask him something like, “How was the water?” and he’d give a simple answer like “nice today,” or “too many kids.” He knew I taught at the university, so sometimes he’d ask me about that, but I would keep it short: “Midterms,” or “Summer’s coming.” Just middle-aged men trying to be good to our earthly forms the best we can.
Bio:
ADAM SOL’s latest book is Broken Dawn Blessings, a collection of poetry published in 2021 by ECW Press. He has published four other books of poetry and one collection of essays, How a Poem Moves: A Field Guide for Readers of Poetry. He teaches at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College.