The suffuse red glow
she used to rest
her weary limbs upon

has been replaced
by the tedious hum
of ugly streetcars

astonishing rapture
& complaints
of passersby,
the fugitive yelps
of a solitary stray dog

all those
shaven children
down by the railroad tracks

move like shadows
on a burning flag

skidmarks on
brutal smiles

wrapped in all the smells
of a PuertoRican
takeaway kitchen

bucktoothed caresses,
cemetary roses
dead as a doornail

a radio tune
you can't forget

overloaded & lost, fading,
between the blind feathers
of my stuffed
blue raven.