SHOP GIRL

every night
walking along cold streets
then turning a corner
i'd see her
she sat black and white
in the shadows of a window
sometimes she didn't
mount the frame until i
walked by, other times
she waited staring with
moon eyes glinting
silver streaks through
the glass watching me
watching her
she often lifted her
leg putting a
toe to her mouth to show
her lean flexibility
once she let her tongue show
as she rubbed her sinuous
body along the glass
tempting me with her
confidence and sexuality
and then like the good
worker she was
she curled herself up
pretending sleep
and listening for
mice.

IN OUR TIMES

on Christmas eve eve
the Army man's bell rang
"salvation -- salvation
feed the poor--clothe the needy"
the kettle was near empty
poor and needy the passers by


on Christmas eve eve
a bad man stood in shadow
wrapped against the wind and
the blowing gritty snow
he eyed the meager kettle
and waited for his chance


on Christmas eve eve
the Soldier fell with broken head
the bell dropped and rolled
into the gutter falling silent
kettle tipped spilling coin
as wind captured the bills


the bell song now is trapped in rust
our salvation falls to broken trust

HOPSCOTCH

light stole in
slanted cold
dragged me
from sleep
poured a cuppa
and crept
to stoop
seizing sunlight
cold through
bare branches
frosted handrails
across the street
a jack russell
mounted a chihuahua
who had slipped out
beyond liquid's steam
watched two kids
scrawl rectangles
scratchy chalk
scraped against sound
of screeching tires
in the street
the girl in the red coat
began a chant
about a careless old bag
with an alligator purse
my liquid chilled
she hopped back to base
the one in blue began
a strange refrain
she jumped the rock
and stopped
clouds moved in
she cried
i can't remember the end
Katy was teaching me
when he took her
the girl in red led her away
a poster on the light pole
had another girl's face
with soulful eyes
Katy Devlin, age 10,
taken by unknown
man driving a
plain white van

In protest of child slavers and all pedophiles.
Asking people to stay aware.

HARD TIMES

i rushed
along the street
i saw her briefly there
she held a sign with some design
hard times

i met
her next downtown
her face marked by a frown
her tattoo had become the sign
hard times

i caught
a taxi bound
uptown my final stretch
what meant this tattood haunting wretch
hard times

she's there
plaza entrance
barring further progress
one last meeting i must address
hard times

in one
movement she came
her arm outstretched   the knife
glinted bright with the ache of strife
hard times