Someone said there is a soul
beneath this city’s streets
I didn’t believe him
only visions of raw chapparal
stunted growth
trying not to be too political i said
Who buried the Pharaoh who shot the Pope?
I’ll show you he said
and got a shovel ran across the street
restaurants and cafes gaped
as he heaved the handle above his head
like a great Goliath
sent the spade into the sidewalk
all jumped back as he
pulled the slabs away
he got down and began to swim
in the sublayer of sand
Wheresthecityssoul?
Wheresthecityssoul?
he screamed
I walked home surrounded by
succulents and stray cats
breathing purple night
a thousand wash machines hummed
in my alley
I crouched down low
pressing my ear to the gravel
and listened to the wail of angels
beneath this city’s steets.
beneath this city’s streets
I didn’t believe him
only visions of raw chapparal
stunted growth
trying not to be too political i said
Who buried the Pharaoh who shot the Pope?
I’ll show you he said
and got a shovel ran across the street
restaurants and cafes gaped
as he heaved the handle above his head
like a great Goliath
sent the spade into the sidewalk
all jumped back as he
pulled the slabs away
he got down and began to swim
in the sublayer of sand
Wheresthecityssoul?
Wheresthecityssoul?
he screamed
I walked home surrounded by
succulents and stray cats
breathing purple night
a thousand wash machines hummed
in my alley
I crouched down low
pressing my ear to the gravel
and listened to the wail of angels
beneath this city’s steets.
posted by Matt at 10:39 PM
1 Comments:
Great poem! Very beat-like. Excellent imagery: "visions of raw chapparal...breathing purple night...a thousand wash machines hummed...the wail of angels beneath this city's streets". Also, the alliteration of "surrounded by succulents and stray cats" is understated and gives a good feeling of the flow or movement of walking home. And the question of the city's "soul" that drives the poem makes for an interesting device that gives the satisfying feeling of following through from the first line of the poem, through the action of the crazy dude with the shovel and finishing on that common theme. I really like this poem. You might want to spend a little time editing and refining it (or not). :-)
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