amphibi.us

life expectancy is low
and the depression is always on.
A few blocks over,
on easy street,
it is common knowledge
that under the bridge
humans live like dogs,
digging holes in the side
of the levee to stay warm,
while, every now and then,
being tossed a sop
by the occasional wayward tourist,
race-walking,
like a frightened duck,
to get safely by.

the only news is
the weather report,
delivered daily, without mercy,
to slow moving creatures,
with brains
like rickety houses,
continuously rattled by
eighteen wheelers passing overhead,
and with faces,
like weather-beaten gargoyles,
emitting plumes of steam
through their crusty portals
all winter long,
with no relief in sight,
and no plan,
except to wait
for the sprouting of the leaves,
bringing on the heat and the stench.

© Barry W, North, 2012