city
” ‘Cause when the city drops into the night
Before the darkness there’s one moment of light
When everything seems clear
The other side, it seems so near
What seemed wrong?
I think it’s gonna be just about right
Before the city drops, the city drops
Into the night”
-Jim Carroll
makers of slaves
robbers of days
robbers of graves
robbers of night
left or right
black or white
this is where we are
mainly compressed
into honing our arts
of happiness
if we can survive
the best of our worst
and the worst of our best
here in the last frontier,
the wild, wild west
if we are a creative threat
to the heathen-nest
then we are put into a box
as they pick our pockets
with parking fines and gun shots
red light cameras and other traps to spot
it can be a realized dream
or just another wicked scheme
bring to it what you see
make it your base station for being free
for these are power-landmarks of history
living, dying
for the city
“They wait in shadows and steal the light from your eyes
To them vision’s just some costly infection
But listen, you should come with me
I’m the fire, I’m the fire’s reflection
I’m just a constant warning to take the other direction”
-Jim Carroll*
*James Dennis “Jim” Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was made into the 1995 film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll.