Islands

HOUSTON COLLECTED

Ave D
Identical homes
mass produced buildings are full
of unique people

Ave C
it?s hard to remember
all the faces when many
are already dead

Ridge
four windows across
and they sit five stories tall
full of memories

Attorney
it?s all painted white
due to some bizarre attempt
to rationalize

Ave B
once forbidden land
is now teeming with yuppies
getting drunk for cheap

Suffolk
You get no discounts
even if you know the man
we?re all the same here

Norfolk
A mass exodus
is occurring as I write
but where will they go?

Ave A
Mist blends with exhaust
down in kliener deutchland
and the people drink

Ludlow
I stumble around
my system in deep shock from
hot katz pastrami

Orchard
Tenement buildings
through a strange twist of fate
are now in vogue

Allen
the bargain districts
easily exploitable
by shiny black shoes

Eldridge
pad locks and iron gates
keep us safe, insulated
from those folks that want

Forsynth
behind the fences
safe from prying voyeur eyes
rests a headless bird

2nd ave
burnt out husks waiting
for the day they get face lifts
so they can compete

Bowery
gentrification
makes entire neighborhoods
as virile as mules

Elizabeth
I?m on the edge
of both safety and danger
liminality

Mott
video cameras
pay so much attention that
I feel important

Mulberry
excessive lugage
piled up on the corner
makes people jealous

Lafayette
private property
alienates everyone
but the chosen few

Crosby
incessant noises
exploding behind walls
drowns out all my thoughts

Broadway
hayseeds drop dollars
buying up designer gear
they?re groping for class

Mercer
the organism
transmutes itself constantly
trying to stay young

Green
everything changes
heavens for the destitute
they now house students

wooster
they see what they want
and so no one notices
all consuming filth

La Guardia
it?s all born flotsam
plastic sheets hanging from trees
keeping us grounded

Thompson
razor wire forbids
but its menacing aura
beckons like sirens

Sullivan
Nature?s allowed
to thrive in the city
only in cages

Macdoogle
although they?re hiding
I know that amongst the shops
I?ll find falafels

Ave Of the Americas
on 6th avenue
the side walk is lined with trash
and everyone smiles

Varick
everyone's fighting
stabbing backs and clawing eyes
to live in the sprawl

Hudson
The hot dog merchants
are said to have hands soaking
in there own urine

Greenwich
the bricks stacked so high
that their very existence
challenges the lord

washington
seems repetition
through its own monotony
offers us comfort

West
in the land of death
on the edge of the island
medics smoke cigars