I wasn't surprised
to see the beast of New York City
clawing at my soul
I'd been to the asphalt jungle
in my mind
knew it to be corrupt
it was
Forty-Second Street
Sodom & Gomorrah in the flesh
you betcha
reason it didn't scare me
I was ready for it
I'd fled worse demons
than New York City had for me
those were physical, lustful and perverted
ones I fled from were
mental for the most part
show me your corruption New York City
I welcomed it
pizza 25₵ a slice
peek shows 25₵ a peek
hookers on parade
rubbing shoulders with stars
over on Broadway
New York! whatta place
new wore off
didja see Midnight Cowboy
yeah
street devours people
Ratso and Joe Buck prime examples
not me
I was devoured before I got there
like the Midnight Cowboy
expected New York
to be my saving grace
hah!
so I took a page out of
The Wandering Jew
and wandered
and wandered
and . . .
down and out and alone
in a city of millions
hungry, cold
cold and hungry
there is a difference
learned streets smarts
how to get by
playing to my one advantage
youth
and attitude
Jimmy Dean swagger
a bit of
solipsistic crude
homeless when homeless wasn’t cool
managed to wed three wives
the last one took
I finally found my niche
stopped running long enough
to write
My Mother's Revenge
eleven books later
still writing
remembering the mean streets
they influenced me and how I take to things
tend to be gruff
would I do things differently
if I could
damn straight I would
©November 28, 2010 / Jerry Pat Bolton
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