8.16.2007

Around the corner

around the corner
teenage legs
dance around poles
sweaty
bulbous
fathers spill
dollars from
child allowances
government kickbacks
uber inebriation
coincides
with roman predecessors
cigar smoke
gun powder
gangster hangouts
breasts hangout
smoke clears
new years
new cheers for
harbinger of death
another soul indicted
to La Costra
Nostra
waterfront no shows
bull dogged
guarded like castles
revenue floats in from
cross town caskets
vigs
hijacking truck full of cigs,
suits and makita power drills
pay Sonny, Tony
and the man they call the rug
Paulie’s days are numbered
heard he caught the Rico bug

around the corner
Irish eyes
smiling into green beer
full of cheer
rosy cheek revelers
red head
bartenders
enjoy the night
bar packed
out back
pool hall
Scotty boy is tied to the chair
8ball
eye socket
‘Give up the stash man’
wrists slashed man
body left in trash can
Money
Over
Bridges
secures city riches
for heads of construction companies
and FBI snitches

around the corner
Antonia Negra,
El Gran Combo
Tito Puente
percolate through the air
a QuinceaƱera romance
simmers in the autumn heat
low-riders
custom trucks
booty shorts
firecrackers
Juan
Jesus
Chico and Adeline
young; aspiring rappers
now tied up in basement shadows
latin kings
wipe swords
on tightened skin
releasing the liquid life from within
a drug deal gone bad
searching for green tea bags
with crystal outlines
gang members in the corner
fill 9mm carbines
two dead already
two more to go
headlines read
‘Spanish Rap group found slain in abandoned El Camino’

around the corner
"Somebody’s trying to tell you something, right now, right now"
right now
gospel music inhales
the kitchen heat
bbq chicken, collards, cornbread, ice potatoes, sweet tea
bigdad blesses nana’s work at hand
Amen is said
peeps don’t stop eating till bones hit the trash can
trash can out back
hides Downtown Sally
finding religion
by paying Pimp for
back seat slips out of reality
backhand slaps
chrome plated gats
gold medallions
feather laden hats
hats off
to protection
Sally consumes
A.I.D.S. filled erection
now Sally gives head to earth
instead of living; life consuming
she swallows the opposite of birth

around the corner
humidity melts
cat eyes reflect
alternating red/blue lights
Officer Smith
Sgt. Brady
10 other officers
surround
guns drawn on 13yr old perp
‘Lay down your weapon and no one will get hurt’
little boy moves forward
taking big man steps
he trips on a grate covering
rain swept
dreams of his future
dropped gun goes off
releasing a volley of bullets
similar to dogs on a racetrack
breaking open 50 wounds
like whip across back
life ends
where chalk begins
outlining bloody reminders of chance encounters
between right and wrong
the angel of death lifts its voice
harking a familiar song
words:soft:comforting
‘death will not be long
each breath you lose
makes me stronger’
strong …………………..
strong ………………
stronger ………
flatline_____________________
Around the corner