This is the first in a series entitled Tiny Toronto Tragedies, in which I will recount one of the myriad moments of pathos which I have witnessed in this city. For while every glimpsed tragedy of a stranger is tiny to the observer, it may linger in the mind and have a more profound impact than we wish to acknowledge. Readers: I invite you to comment with your own tales of tiny tragedies which you have witnessed in Toronto.

This week's entry is a type of of Haiku, using the 5-7-5 syllable and three line stanza structure.

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Subway car lurches
A baby's wail tears the air
Mother leans forward

Fifty-ish woman
Gazes at mother and child
Radiates longing

The two chubby arms
Outstretched in expectation
Graze the mother's face

The woman's mouth smiles
While the eyes fill up with tears
And the face crumples

Ossington Station
Mother and child leave the train
Glancing back at her

She lowers her head
Ashamed of her sudden tears
Hand over her eyes

Ruby lips tremble
The tears run through her fingers
Black with mascara

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Image of the CN Tower by Liza Badaloo.
Liza Badaloo refuses to listen to music while out exploring the city, preferring to keep her ears open to tales stranger than fiction.