By Mickey Z.
when your neighborhood
gets hip
one benefit is the used
books for sale
on the street near the elevated
train
on my way to the city for
a rare pleasure trip
(to look for used books
coincidence)
see the tables straining
under
teetering towers of paperbacks
mostly bearing fabio's likeness
(astoria hasn't changed
THAT much)
i approach the bookseller
scan his face for familiarity
was he in that documentary
I saw? (no)
got any bukowski, i ask
who?
he squints into the mid-day
sun
charles bukowski
that's a classic, right
his accent is vaguely slavic
his eyes scan the browsers
as he reminds them:
fifty cents
well, i smile, that's a
matter of opinion, i guess
humor lost on him, bookseller
shrugs
don't think so
i thank him and ascend
the stairs to the train
still need manhattan for
the real stuff
probably better off that
way
By Mickey Z.
nuns can be sadistic
the fire drills at st. patrick's
grammar school
were timed for nastiest
weather
or during standardized tests
worst was gym class in the
winter
lined up outside the building
shivering
in t-shirts and shorts
passers-by gawking ay our
pale skin
covered in goose bumps
nuns draped head to toe
in black
warm
we had a genuine bomb scare
once
no one knew the difference
until much later
nuns can be secretive too
By Mickey Z.
girl across from me to
the left on
the w train sits down and
pulls out
an envelope of newly printed
photos from her bag
she flips through them
the way everyone flips photos
holds them close to deter
snoops
she smiles at most
some provoke little or no
response
once she displays something
like mocking concern
like she or someone she
likes has done
something silly or regrettable
maybe just a bad hair day?
she goes through them a
second time
her mind calculating which
photos to
give to whom
which to copy
which make the photo album
which don't
pretty girl
she lives near me but we
haven't said hello yet
i like to see her chuckle
at certain shots
(then look around to see
if her mirth was noticed)
find myself wishing i were
in one of her photos
the one that makes her giggle
and grin
w train gets crowded at
queens plaza
view of photo girl obscured
fidgety asian guy sits too
close
tries to read my writing
move to the right but find
fat man peeking too
the mood is ruined until
pretty spanish girl smiles
at me
to end this poem
.
Thanks,
MZ.
|