A Montréal

As I'm not a complicated person
I write texts about what I see
So sitting in a café
I watch life around me
Behind the window, it's bright daylight
And there's wind in the trees
I watch the rush near the towers
And my maple syrup toast
I got up well before 7 am
It's a temporary feat
Usually it would scare me too much
But I'm jet-lagged
I appreciate my new reality
I've lifted my spirits
I feel the day will be beautiful
Here I am in Montreal
I was told that winter is tough here
So I came in spring
Six months in the cold is torture
If I can avoid it, I'd rather
But this morning the sky is all blue
And I feel my heart is all white
I'll get to know the city a bit better
I want to see Montreal in a big way
I have a good first impression
Because people are welcoming
There are more smiles than in Paris
And above all, there's their accent
Apart from a few outdated words
They speak the same language as us
But for the accent, I know their secret
They have too much flexibility in their cheeks

In terms of architecture, Montreal is a bit all over the place
There's old, new, steeples, skyscrapers side by side
But I love this inconsistency and the influence of all these styles
I feel good in these differences, I'm a child of all cities
There are plenty of severe buildings, big honking cars
And taxis everywhere, it's the Anglo-Saxon influence
There are stained glass windows in churches and cobblestones in alleys
Some indelible traces of European influence
There are big shopping centers, and straight streets forming blocks
No doubt about it, Montreal is the little sister of New York
There are small terrace restaurants, a Latin quarter, and creperies
No doubt about it, Montreal is the cousin of Paris
In the afternoon lights, I chilled on Sainte Catherine
And there I shopped, no question of doing shopping
I like Saint-Denis street, maybe it's not just a coincidence
And on the Plateau of the bobos, I soaked up the sun at Place des Arts
I really liked the old port and its industrial ghosts
And strangely, I'll visit the museum district next time
I don't claim to know the city, I'm just a tourist full of friendship
But I love this place, its air, and its faces from all over the world
I stopped to watch the night fall on Montreal
And the last wink of the sun changing the colors of the royal word
The car headlights filled the endless avenues
I felt serene, a bit at home, a bit lost
I took refuge in a Starbucks to finish scratching
My little tribute to this city where I felt adopted
To these open-minded inhabitants who speak a funny dialect
And who offered me their listening, 6000 kilometers from home
I will come back to Montreal because I had a lot of fun
This city where the guys have blondes and the blondes have guys
I haven't seen much yet, I want to discover and I know why
I will come back to Montreal to see the Quebecois cousins