Subway Symphony  

I caught his illness in the carbon coz all the trees were  
rolled & smoked    
    
I caught his famine in the big apple Madison garden coz Adam    
& Eve sinned and choked    
  
I caught the shivers in the cold shoulders he got from the    
rich    
  
as if it wasn't bad enough  
his blanket was minimized to    
a stitch  
    
I caught some rain that slid off his tongue from his lips    
and put it into the empire in the state  
of his cataract eyes    
    
so he could look up into the sky…scrapers    
    
and see the CNN billboard of Hurricane Katrina's…Hurricane Maria’s  
sad puddle    
    
I caught some change and flipped it in to the wishing well    
of his palm    
 and wished him well with a psalm    
 said God bless there was no rebuttal    
    
 He was a resident of the underground studio caves    
 where ears show they love sound waves    
    
 produced & played...reduced.... or Paid!...    
 If Impressed!    
    
I caught a smile when he heard a please and you    
 when I said my favorite subway jam...request    
There was embedded passion in his wrinkled fingers    
    
Seen his history of an assassin in his knuckles &    
wrinkled fingers    
    
the subway passing but echo of  
(static) “please stay clear of the closing doors"  
& urine smell still lingers    
    
Poverty is a melody a symphony of...    
    
I caught his heart beat in the rush hour traffic footsteps    
 on Yankee chewing gum, New York Times littered pavement    
      
I caught the angry, sacred  
heavy breathing imprisoned    
reason do your...    
    
Time…Square in a cardboard box enslavement    
    
As blood leaks like his piss down broken cracks    
 from the enemies of those who pack their guardian angel in    
their slacks    
    
uptown to downtown    
 Crosses on stolen chains    
 Bloodied t-shirts triggering past crimes in the brain    
    
Tapping on trash cans    
 While u jamming to your I pod on the train    
    
 Struggling to make some change    
 He said he been trying to change    
 But even if he changed...into suit and tie      
 He couldn’t put address on a resume    
Or  A pay phone # for them to call today    
    
 poverty a melody a symphony of    
    
change in plastic cups and hand cuffs jingling    
"Spare me some change?" or "Give me all yo    
money!"    
    
sounds like music    
    
I caught his illness in the carbon    
    
I caught his famine in The Big Apple, Madison Garden    
I caught the shivers in the cold shoulders    
    
I caught his heart beat in the rush hour traffic footsteps    
      
I caught the angry, sacred heavy breathing imprisoned    
    
I caught him!    
Playing soul music    
    
Playing the last possible notes off broken strings &    
rusty horns  
to personify the beauty that could still  
come out if his deteriorating body    
    
Playing blues    
Singing the pink off his cheeks,  
the purple off his lips,    
the red out his eyes    
    
Til’ his last verse turned people green with envy  
& made   them forget for 2 beats  
that he was just…
a poor man    
    
And while he captured them..    
    
I caught him beat up some dude that stole his only quarter    
that looked at him like he was less then a human    
that spit on his cardboard house    
 that thought he would use the money on drugs instead of food    
that didn't know how he became poor but thought he deserved    
to live that way    
    
I caught him beat music onto white faces in perfect melody    
like note paper    
sculpt every victims profile into the republican    
that had no rhythm in his chest with his fist    
and watched him sit right back down just like this...
and   play his music...  
 
IG:  Nourish_Cruz