catskull balcony
L Vargas

from the broadway balcony
I daily endure
paranoid car alarms
horns blared for the sake of AGGRESSION
gang kids in wolfpacks
verbal abuse at the busstop
cats smashed and girlfriend tears
buses in low gear moaning
destruction construction
plates smashed in crossstreet apartments
lurkers eying my love
shattered speed limits
mysterious creatures of unknown origin
a neighborhood water supply in an exposed metal pipe
red white and blue emergency sirens
hit and run accidents that wake the neighbors
hoops and hollers for hootchies
veterans mumbling and staring straight ahead
skaters screaming like missiles
predatory police patrols
and one little old lady
who carries an open umbrella
regardless of the weather

-To my friend, Coulter Jacobs