"Con-Ed Fed Agents" (Poem 1 of 15)

Liquid Heat

The Greek Chorus laughs

While the heat turns liquid

Shimmering, in heat, Summer 2023

In-between, crossing signals intentionally

Morning Glory climbing burglar bars

Or further back into the mist, how the dark

Corners of early imagination bled into adolescence

The ambiguous shape of fear looming outside

The shelter schedule crepuscular 

Wedged between the Pioneer and dead end

Street, next to bottle return machines

How he sold fresh flowers for his cured 

Plant matter, it looks like shale but hits like

Lead, police scanner mutters that someone's...

Almost died crossing the street 

Green man, cross walk, suburban mom

Glendale, Queens, streets ain't really mean

Sidewalks Dumile had never even seen

Back of the ambulance, first words were

"I'm good man, i don't need any EMTs"

They just laughed at me, knowing I had just

Seized, neck brace, blood on white sheets

Quit looking for solutions, this is triage

Protect your neck and stay still, dumb ass

7 hours in the trauma center, Deep Jamaica

Almost yakked in the Uber, windows down