Breathe

The city Monopoly on top of me

Run me over

Push and topple me

The middle class is

High under siege

Who owns these buildings

I see

In front of me

Behind me

Who’s pieces touch the sky

Down to the ground

All around

The goal of surviving

Is miles short of thriving

On the ground struggling to breathe

Can feel like I am dying

Not on my death bed I am lying

To my soul

The energy it is supplying

Paycheck to paycheck

Account balance recheck

Food and meal not set

In a city with a finger

Lingering

On my reset

Surely Uncertainty

Surely the uncertainty

Will certainly

Wear perfectly on

The real worthy

Feelings

Confirming me

Consciously

Putting me feet in front of me

Supposedly

There is a 1 out of 3

Chance

That whether we sing

Or dance

We will not have enough

Cash

To stash away

For the future

So we must take utmost precaution

With scalpel and suture

Sow our future

To know it can grow

And go where we hope it goes

Our future together

Must be stronger

Then when the wind blows

But truly

Who knows

Sympathetic Inflections

I am no controlled spirit

Untamed and overgrown

My emotions can be so

Easily swung

Not the words that I am

Proud of

Not in pride am I congested

When I am over zealous

My heart can be to little

Protected

How is it that the same tricks

With new names

Can catch a heart beat

All the same

If I could only go under cover

Into my own deepest detections

Pull out the weakest of

Sympathetic

Inflections

So rather than pick up

The pieces from hopes unmet

I could let my heart down easy

Lay it to rest gentle

While it’s quiet on the set

However my heart will wrestle me

At every turn

Up and down

It’s always involved

Every choice

All around

The Streets of Pollution

When the shift comes

When the good has come undone

Rung out of the feelings

Absurd little dealings

Of high dollar agreements

Gentrification and public ceilings

I have become the problem

No longer a solution

Another chimney

On the streets of pollution

My feelings have crackled

Dried up like timber

Burst into flames

Under the opposite

Season to winter

My hopes wither

From giant logs on a river

To little more than a small sliver

The exchanges of gold and silver

Have yielded a new type sinner

With higher debts

And higher fevers

To push up rents

And out the believers

So now maybe I am the problem

I am not quite sure how it shifted

From pushing keys

In the seat I am sitting

Now to the lords of rent

Coming down hard

In a city unfit for a family and yard

So I will move on

To new opportunities and games

For somewhere else I may be the solution

To help clean up

The new streets of pollution

One, Two, Three

‘Up, one, two, three…”

Rest

I wonder how long I can do this

Just maintain

Sustain a healthy life

What about my career

Am I headed in the right direction

Ah f*ck directions

‘Up, one, two, three…”

Rest

I wonder if we will make rent this week

Can we afford to get some food tonight

I am sure we will be alright

Last time I checked we were

‘Up, one, two, three…”

Rest

I can’t believe how sore I am today

Walking over 5 miles a day

It’s a little much

To work and play

But I am tough

I am a New Yorker

‘Up, one, two, three”

Rest

4 workouts in a weeks

Trying to keep my body in peak shape

Just for the strength I need

To carry on life

To make progess where I thought

I could make none

Back

‘Up, one, two, three…”

guitar_Fotor hazy

Unattainable Repose

The elusive ghost

Chased through streets

Competing with our hands

Feet

Mouths open and close

Drifting words hung

Before the evening repose

This unattainable drifting ghost

My soul collapses on Wednesday

To only renew the next day

The brittleness of surviving

Well below the standards of

Living well and thriving

Conniving thoughts land soft

When arriving

Then dismissed in the thought abyss

Of carrying on

This day I just long for easy nights

Well rested then feeling alright

Keeping the feelings down

In my mind

In time

I will find

A rhyme of words

To keep me ahead

Instead of walking

Flying

In moments of desperation

It’s feet ahead

Eyes wide open

To just keep on trying

The Single Bird on the Avenue

A single bird flies down Manhattan Avenue

2 wings flapping strong in the wind

Gentle acceleration

Calling out lightly at 6 AM

Such stillness can exist in the city

High hitting trains come to a stop

To see this small bird perched atop

The brownstones of Brooklyn

Resting its wings

To begin it’s ritual sing

Lighten the roads with laughter

The clanking of iron clad walls

Retracted

Open for business now

Seemingly attractive

Deliveries on time and delayed

Now I rush out the door

To see the bird fly away

Manhattan Hustle

Manhattan means of hustle

Cannot be outdone

The city’s soul

Worn and wrung

The pace of growth

So fast and known

The life investment

Can build or take your home

So we jump in 

Head first

Awaiting new phone calls

The hunger and thirst

Sweet Subtleties

The sweet subtleties of the city

Through the breeze of leaves

Blossom from the long winter

Spring man now enter

In the calmness of May

May we be entertained by the weather

Alone

The gentle feel of a mild day

Close your eyes

To feel the city lift you away