It was a beatnik hangout
Painters philosophers met there
Curious guys like myself
A friend recommended it
Take the number 4 bus
Get off at Clarke Street
Walk down from Sherbrooke Street
Bar La Paloma–there’s a dove above the door
I order a Cinzano Red neat
Cool jazz music–Miles Davis I think
The smell of Gauloises cigarettes
“Did you see Modi’s latest show?”
I overhear the shop talk
As a Sunday painter myself
Keeping my day job and yet
Looking for artistic inspiration
I went back to Montréal recently
Looking for La Paloma
The place doesn’t exist anymore
But I found my dove—and more
