an alliance of perfect squares

an alliance of perfect squares

punk hopscotch

horse shoe cleats

tapping cement squares

with loud clicks

and bics

lighting cigs

dangling squares

(Marlboro Men wanna bees

with rolled up sleeves on their

tees)

blowing rings from the squares

into square lives

drawn with concrete crayon

tarnished leather black

greasy hair rising in cowlick grace

or lack of it...

the young boy walks by frantically

darting his eyes away,

knowing his plight

the gang is strong together

the young boy is alone

fists and feet fly

the young boy dies

on another antagonistic city street

in mid-summer heat

and that night

blood droplets stain the chalk squares

as bics startle the darkness

a few puffs of relief

not caught, never caught, ever vigilant

they wait on another

it's the way these days

survival is landing in the last square

with impunity

and at least one last square to share

as the heavy night falls upon the city.

erin-cilberto

6/15/18

Reviews

[Lyn Anderson]

Cities can be brutal places, where many people are lost, never to be seen again, the perpetrators never caught ...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insights, Lyn.
j.

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

This sends me from West Side Story...In the Heat of the Night......to Biggie Smalls rap song...They Call Me "BIG PAPA"! I grieve as the heavy night falls upon the city....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Queenie...and wow...West Side and Heat of...two of my favorites...

[Bacchus]

Punk hopscotch is genuis, and the cigarette wanna bees... This has got a good grove

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Bacchus.
j.

[DIVYA]

One wonders at the triviality of life, the casual loss of it, the jungle law played out on city streets and no one bats an eyelid. I used to watch western thrillers as a kid. Your words bring back that thrill and intrigue here.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i watched nothing but Westerns as a kid...with my dad...all of the old Western TV series...thank you for the memories, DIVYA.
j.

[sette]

those were the times that simple pleasures can be savored even for just a short time

[jacob erin-cilberto]

so true...thank you, sette.
j.