v. To have dealings; to communicate, converse; to treat, negotiate (with a person)

n. the practice of some occupation, business, or profession habitually carried on, esp. when practised as a means of livelihood or gain: a calling

[adapted from the OED]

 This is a city where strangers have arrived.

So beautiful. So endlessly adaptable.

[Alice Major, “Contemplating the City”]

 

Somewhere in the parking lot, archaeologists

sink trenches into the past, slice their arbitrary lines.

Delicately, they dust artifacts free:

iron nails in an aura of rust, chips of coarse china,

beads and bullets – trade goods hauled here

on the river’s muscled back.

[Alice Major, “Contemplating the City”]

 

Trade may include: Fort Edmonton, HBC Stables, Donald Ross Hotel, Shaw Conference Centre, Real Estate (vinyl victorians)

Thoughts on Form

Trade, unlike Traffic, seems to be more about destination rather than route. In the simplest playground sense of the word (I’ll trade you a shovel for a bucket), there are always two distinct parties involved. Might this be somehow reflected in the form?