North Of Downtown

The other side of the city.......

 

North of downtown

To the avenue of nations

I seen much despair

And angry desperation

Dark-faced Somalis

With ball caps on slants

Dark ghostly Natives

Lost in eerie chant

Secret Chinese stores

And graffiti so bold

Broken-down bums

Shuffle out in the cold

Spit-stained sidewalks

Pawn shops and loans

“No Hookers Allowed”

Everyone’s eyes just like stones

The cruisers will prowl

And see, and do naught

The thief in the shadow

He will not be caught

Furtive glances are leering

Trash lines gutters not neat

The air now smells sour

With the scent of the street

Dumpsters are havens

For nomadic tribes

On bicycles, with cardboard

Through the alleys they ride

The streets are near empty

Ghosts of things that had been

Now it has decayed

And despair has set in

And I quickly depart

From this unsettled ground

Away from the land

That is north of downtown

Reviews

[Chad]

Nice. You really installed your feelings into me there.

[Haden]

wow, north of downtown is not a place i'd like to go. your vivid words keep me away from it. your rhythm and the grey of the tone keep me safe in my locked car deep in suburbia. nicely done!

[Kim]

very good flow and rythem to this piece. So humbling when you look at those ends of towns. Haunting