B-More Careful

A city that never sleeps

with cameras on every street

Take a trip to Mondawmin Mall,

ferry rides at the harbor,

Lexington Market food quarters.

Long walks to school,

with no bus in sight.

Either Dad dropped us off

or our legs got a jump start

on P.E. for life.

Damn near late

every other day.

It was a hike or two

felt like walking a 5K.

Ain’t no joke

in the heart of the city.

Visits to the park

near the airport's breeze.

Value City for the Avirex jeans.

Edited hip-hop CDs,

PS1 with Tekken Tag dreams.

Game Stop runs

on after-school steam.

Those were the days

except for breathing in

that factory musk.

Constantly clearing nostrils

of smog-thick dust.

City air built lungs

that couldn’t be crushed.

Mom loved downtown shopping trips

dentist appointments

and doctor visits.

That retainer went to war

with my back teeth

until my hand wiggled them

free from the barricade.

That retainer

didn’t stand a chance against me.

Reminiscing

rats rattled trash cans.

Cats got chased

down alleyway paths.

Milk crates?

Best rims we ever had.

Never on Sundays

with checker paper baskets.

Mortal Kombat arcade battles

Can I get some tokens please?I

’m about to beat the game

while lunch settledwarm in my belly.

Across the street

the laundromat hums.

Sub shop next door

got the hood smelling numb.

Philly cheese steaks paraded the block.

Pigeons laid resting

in the field near the lot

until my brother

splashed water

and they shot off like rockets.

My fears?

They shook me.

Thought a pigeon

might peck me

while poop dropped

on bold heads in the mist.

I laughed the scare away

with a stomach full of bliss.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/I-FaDoCPoXs