a street along the born and the dead
live your entire life there whole
from start to finish, crawl from the hospital on one end
and embrace your fire or dirt in the cemetery the other.
along the way eat a cheeseburger and sip a shake
pork the popcorn or not at all while
engaging the small street film house;
fill the auto with gaso
Show me your religion at the big bell church
some saint is his name there is Mary on the lawn;
and a homeless we’re not allowed to call him bum anymore.
shop till you I won’t say it, overpriced or right in there fine for you.
Plebian or dining refined; bring your visiting mother;
coffee house and library and major hospital center;
Chinese restaurant to go or to stay
Japanese sushi in more than one choice and array.
Walk it to a view on a green or brown hill, depending on your season,
and sweep your arm broadly at the entire bay view,
from bridge to bridge, the gate and the mountain.
Toil too gainfully employed pull down the bread for your interim,
your temporary stay on the avenue, as you quickly pass by
one end to the other, swiftly, and the street’s stay
does not threaten impermanence. Your swirl-licking of the
ice cream cone, an old historic spot, is a hurry, is a hurry.
The neighborhood way is small and it offers it all;
find the proper day and you may borrow a book
from the public library: but focus and finish and bring it back,
return to the cheeseburger shack, try if you will (as it may be smoother)
the no look back, and make it a stroll from one end to the other.