street corner conversation
while hands make exchanges
bodegas bustling
fire escape carpet dusting
hot peas and butter
salsa lovers
determined single mothers
hopeful kids home before dark
play in cement parks
while a neighbors dog barks
empty viles and cigar filling
left from a cypher now gone
escaping from things
they haven't done wrong
twisting fingers braid
woolen hair while girls
play double dutch jumping in pairs
as a pastor bids farewell
Rene Velez
Copyright ©2006 Rene Velez
