King On King

A poem touching on the inequalities & images captured during a walk down King Street.

It all started on King, with one step to the left

Erased all mental distractions, & exhaled with my breath

Phone back in the room, a first for the year

A fresh head for ahead, full release of the rear

I began to take in what laid ahead on my path

& the picture complex, way broader than math

I saw the stores with display, the glass clean crystal clear

But yet right outside, the homeless reeking of beer

With shop after shop, workers all in a zone

One image that gives a nostalgia of home

Though the real vision emerged not inside the door

But out on the street, the real city’s ground floor

Some kings, & some peasants, that scour the seen

I absorbed the image like creating a dream

On the surface, a mix of riches covering rags

But perhaps a lack of opportunities is what really is had

It’s unique to observe the product of life

Where on the same street wrong sits so close to the right

I see suits, I see ties, I see glasses, & I see eyes

I have questions, I find answers, but some end with a why?

Why can some climb high to the sky?

But others cook under chaos with try after try?

I see porchses, & foreigns cruising so calm

& cardboard signs with sharpie, hands out, open palm

This story isn’t tragic, it’s just recalling the true

I was told to tell, but I’m not sure what to do

After walking four blocks & making a right

The atmosphere changes like day into night

I see the buildings lose color but grow with their size

A classic vibe that says history has made this city wise

I approach a school that’s an ignition to the past

Where I think about days before hearts had a cast

When playing with joy was a kids only task

& the biggest struggle was just memorizing my math

Closely i look at the fence enclosing the kids

& i see the jungle gym where a child once hid

The slide where we’d ride & always feel so alive

& the mulch by the swings where we’d soar & we’d dive

I think how even though home is so far away

This seems so familiar just seeing them play

So many stories in this city different chapters had been told

& i think what will come as the now young grows old

As I continue to step & observe all around

The palm trees rooted & light tan from the ground

A now quiet surround that’s soft with it’s sound

Just an old couple walking & leashed was a hound

I thought how much has changed for their eyes

But yet today we both walked under clouds in the sky

A light blue sheet that laid high up above

With soft white fluffs mixed with the sun

& a jogger that passed while out on a run

All in a city that’s holy & can feel as it’s one

One quote to describe, this moment of shine

Is everywhere can be walked if only one has the time

Steven wright said it then & i felt it right there

That if only there was time life would be fair

& Italo Cavino who described what a city

Was like with his poise & no pity

“You take delight in not the city’s wonders but in the answer it gives to a question of yours”

That quote is a fact that must reign to supreme

Because a city can be the light to a dream

It can be closure or chaos but a city will speak

& It’s only us who decide to be strong or be weak

My walk down king was a journey at worst

I saw wealthy & blessed & malnourished & cursed

But the vision that must be repeated to all

Is to embrace what can rise & not what will fall

This city can set life up for a yacht

Or a path stepped wrong & a future could Rot

Take a walk for yourself & let all your senses ring

So if seen on a walk down king, you’re seen like a king