deepundergroundpoetry.com
Spring in my hood...
The first sign of spring in my hood...
is the old man with his guitar...
sitting near the doors of the market.
Guitar in his lap. Case open.
He strums a little and people toss cash
into his case. He lives in my building.
Around the corner is Mutt. He sits against
the building with a liquor bottle.
NYS law says open bottles must be in
paper bags. I haven't a clue why. He
asks for sandwich money and shows that
he already has booze - he just needs to eat.
Within a few hours, he has enough for
either Burger King or slices of pizza.
That is what he uses the $$$ for...
he comes back everyday to repeat this.
Both men piss in the nearby alley...
below my hall window. Prostitutes
give BJs and HJs in the same alley.
Others flag down cars with male drivers.
The drivers always look out of place.
A couple Hispanic dudes sell bootleg
cigarettes and "other stuff" outside
the many years closed pharmacy.
"Other stuff" includes hard drugs and pills.
Convenient as it is across from the
pot shop on the corner. One block for
every personal need! No one bothers them!
The cops even buy the reservation smokes
and turn a blind eye to the rest. If a trick
is happening in the alley - the one cop
shouts, "Use a condom folks. Stay safe!"
Muslim women creep out of their homes
in ninja style. Cloaked all in black they
shop the market, ALDI and the corner stores.
Even they and their kids piss in my alleyway.
It's freezing cold today. No one is out
and about. Temp tonight is around 16°.
My rent-included heat is on full blast...
and I top out at just 64°. Colder in the bathroom.
Last year we hit a low of -1° and there
was frost in my bathtub. I hate the cold!
I am waiting for spring and the opening of my
hall window to the spring urine air!
Sometimes I sit by the open window for hours.
is the old man with his guitar...
sitting near the doors of the market.
Guitar in his lap. Case open.
He strums a little and people toss cash
into his case. He lives in my building.
Around the corner is Mutt. He sits against
the building with a liquor bottle.
NYS law says open bottles must be in
paper bags. I haven't a clue why. He
asks for sandwich money and shows that
he already has booze - he just needs to eat.
Within a few hours, he has enough for
either Burger King or slices of pizza.
That is what he uses the $$$ for...
he comes back everyday to repeat this.
Both men piss in the nearby alley...
below my hall window. Prostitutes
give BJs and HJs in the same alley.
Others flag down cars with male drivers.
The drivers always look out of place.
A couple Hispanic dudes sell bootleg
cigarettes and "other stuff" outside
the many years closed pharmacy.
"Other stuff" includes hard drugs and pills.
Convenient as it is across from the
pot shop on the corner. One block for
every personal need! No one bothers them!
The cops even buy the reservation smokes
and turn a blind eye to the rest. If a trick
is happening in the alley - the one cop
shouts, "Use a condom folks. Stay safe!"
Muslim women creep out of their homes
in ninja style. Cloaked all in black they
shop the market, ALDI and the corner stores.
Even they and their kids piss in my alleyway.
It's freezing cold today. No one is out
and about. Temp tonight is around 16°.
My rent-included heat is on full blast...
and I top out at just 64°. Colder in the bathroom.
Last year we hit a low of -1° and there
was frost in my bathtub. I hate the cold!
I am waiting for spring and the opening of my
hall window to the spring urine air!
Sometimes I sit by the open window for hours.
Published 5th Jan 2025
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The author encourages honest critique.
Nice. When it's that cold out though, you won't smell the piss. Stay toasty!
5th Jan 2025 9:58pm
5th Jan 2025 11:41pm
You really should seek out a second heat source, we also have lived in crappy apartments.
5th Jan 2025 11:54pm
I have hand warmers from Amazon. 3 setting and the first is hot enough while huddled under blankets. I manage. As a child, a space heater caused a fire. I avoid them. Although, it was probably defective.
6th Jan 2025 2:49am
What people do in order to survive, just to get by, huh? Lots of little trades going on here, I see. Some of it sounds intimidating. I like how you describe what's happening outside your window, I just wish it was nicer for you.
