I have to say that this poem was inspined by a line from a poem by Serenity.."Iambe held him on her hip." The line brought to mind this poem. So I give her all my thanks for the inspiration.

The abode most rememebered
would have to the be the projects.
There off sheridan drive
right across the street
from the ASPCA. Quite
apparent in the number
of half breed mutts
and sick looking cats
that populated this blight
on the uppity decor
of the rest of sheridan drive.

I remember the sounds of morning.
So loud in a window with no screen
no storm glass at all, as if the
hung over drunk next door
woke up in your very bed
and farted good-morning to the wind.

While kids screamed for cereal
and cartoons at a mother too tired
to even pick up her feet as she
shuffled from room to room.
How I hated that sound. Like
an urban snake in human form
slithering from room to room
with baby on hip and the scent
of dime store perfume and barf
permeating her dingy robe. A smell
that would be sucked out on the wind
by some useless fan so coated with dust
all it managed was a small gust of stink
out into the street, to then waft upon
wind into my little cubicle.

The nights were no better
as the dregs of this existence
took to the streets and alleys
to ply the youth and old alike
with their recreational drug of choice.
Back then the list being much longer.
Acid and ludes a plenty. enough
to go around for all, so they could
smoke, toke or swallow some paradise
to blot from mind the unsavory feel
of the surroundings they called home.

Why this place sticks out in my mind
above all the rest I cannot say, unless
it is because not only was I presented
with the sight of this small horror,
but my very being was caught up
in the smell and the taste,
and the feel, of the bitterness these
people felt. The sorrow that seemed
to seep from pores as they sat in
rooms lacking air or any sense of cool
at all. And this feeling overtook me each day
as I stepped outside to find just one
small gift of sight, upon some treasure,
perhaps misplaced and there for me to see.

WhiteRose 10/04/02