Isn�t this the sorriest stretch of road
in naked shame at night?
There�s a place in this city
I have not seen�
part of the side of the city
where I live
the lonesome, love starved
building full of lights
between the earth and sky.

This is where I live,
standing on the train tracks
overgrown, traversed only by folks
with small children
and tolerance for tall weeds

This is where I parked
before I found the gravel lot
and they built a trailer park
in the empty concete sea

This is where I stumble
on my way home from the bar
where men ask for money
and I tell them I have none
and despite it, they help me up

In photos it looks empty
but behind the shadows rise old tobacco
warehouses like monsters
dark gray and quiet

they are proud like lions
where it is secret and silent
and I am safe in its abandonment
when I climb the stairs
to where I live.