City Escape

City evening -

nightlife scents
in the summer wind:
cigarette smoke,
piss, sweat, and
garlic pizza.

The street lights
hide the stars.
Windows facing alleys
lined with bars
hide the silent little wars.

Revelers carousing,
crowds passing on the sidewalk -
their shouts drowned by the siren call -
while on the other side of the brick walls
shouts of another kind - 
disappointment finds
the tinder of alienation
and lights the fire of anger and regret.

We are a fretful nation
seeking always to forget
the home of broken dreams
in the safety of the city streets
where the heart ache always seems
to pass in a dance, a kiss.
A stranger's touch is easy bliss.

Insect

Today
I killed
A cockroach.
A subject we are loathe
To broach:
Is God the sidewalk
Or the shoe?

Is faith in an unseen future
The glue
That binds the suture
Tight,
That joins all things
In futile fight
For survival?

The image, primal,
Of the crushed insect -
I shall remember but soon forget.
We kill the small and worthless
Without regret.