City of Sin
July 3, 2012 § 19 Comments
Delicate
Fish fry afternoon
45 minute walk on inferno cement
to polluted ocean
on flush town border
remember when it was just me and you
tripping on Jules coffee
in our ghetto love nest
with our oven-ette
and three cats?
Diamond district house paint fume war
Feet slap uneven sidewalk
Storefront ghosts,
like old tyme moth ball ladies
holding bedraggled
parasols against the aging sun
save 3 dollars for ice cream sandwiches
and debate the bus ride back to
the center of the lost land
minorities and poverties
in walmart flip-flops and expensive
cars parked in front of
matchbox apartments
carved from mansions of founding sea fathers
when the ocean was king
not the city
the ocean was king
fishing was king of money
and diamonds were bought with the blood of boats
sweat is also salty
leaving the cast offs now to reclaim
the elemental home as their own
we smelled the ocean every single day,
then the garbage, then the cooking oil
and back in out bed/couch with our bowl/solace
I’d make you dinner and
we’d swear there was nothing
better than two rooms of
our own and freedom
near the ocean.
In those moments nothing was better.
Love you.
oh heck..i just love it..love the whole atmosphere..the togetherness..the being happy and money has nothing to do with it…and yep…i believe you that there was nothing
better than two rooms of
our own and freedom
near the ocean…..
Thank you Claudia, that means a lot…
nice…great urban feel to this…and you capture some of its grit but also in it being by the sea some of the magic as well….having lived by the ocean i pine to return…fabulous imagery and story telling….made me want to be there…smiles.
Thank you!
Its sometimes difficult for me to bring these pieces to life.
I loved going here again.
Loved that opening, very strong. I live near the sea so can really connect with this and that sense of going back to the days when you started out with little but a happy heart and fish and chips!
aw thank you.
love that reaction…
‘we smelled the ocean every single day’
sighhhhhhhhhhhhh
thanks for taking me back there
You can hear the sea and smell the mingling scents throughout this – it’s very sensory.
thank you!
sensory is a fabulous compliment.
Oh this is rhythmic bliss! Reminds me of a miss ani difranco piece. Beautifully done. Xoxo
oh come now.
you flatterer
ah, yes, the good old days… it seems that we make life more and more complicated as we age, but what could be better than two rooms, three cats, and the ocean?
You are THE master of this stuff. Doffs cap
this is fantastic! I love the line…” storefront ghosts”…that’s the state of so many of our seaside towns now…but I still love them…thankyou for these thoughts so well put down.
it makes me a little happy they are there. If the ghosts remain, maybe mine will too. or something of me will.
This is fantastic. The flow from the first set of lines to the next is perfection:
“minorities and poverties
in walmart flip-flops and expensive
cars parked in front of
matchbox apartments
carved from mansions of founding sea fathers
when the ocean was king
not the city”
Simply brilliant!