Excerpts from Urban Verses



Profiled

Dashboard lights strobe,

a siren wails,

and before I remember my right

to a well-lit stopping place,



Construction

Seven inner-city seventh graders—

constituents of an educational system

struggling to maintain a tenuous grasp

on teachers, funds and hope—



Blooms

The most exquisite flowers

spring up

in the least likely spots—

lending splashes of color,



Location

They say I'm brave to live here-

A courageous soul, more so than most

And I believe that they intend it

As a compliment to me



Puzzles

The Bible says, in Heaven there will be no night

But it's the approach of night, in all its many-colored splendor,

That shows me God the Master Painter



Momentarily Mom

Little Sweet One

Mine for one inexplicable instant

Hovering over my upturned palm

Like a distracted hummingbird

Pausing on the journey

From your first mother to your forever mom