10,694. MY MASKED ALLEGIANCE

MY MASKED ALLEGIANCE

My masked allegiance is to the

God of Doubles. Everything spliced

into a spiritual bliss : the streetlamp

at the corner flooding down with light,

while three kids beneath it hover in

their darkness. We have too much 

ground between us for me to cover.

-

I remain aloof, and say nothing. 

Though Nature, with its now-steaming 

claws, knows already how I hate the 

rats;  I leave them be. Slaughter on 

10th Avenue would be too good for me

-

Swing-sets goad with devilment in the

park  -  during daytime hours, just kids

and mothers, grime and noise. Each

blissful female ever wanting more. There

is no satisfaction but the satisfaction

of the whore : like Blake put it, the

harlot's curse, the marriage hearse.

-

I realize I am famished, and dip into

Germano's little store : Eggs and envy.

Buttered rolls and bread. The simple stuff

of a lifetime : United Nations cars with

diplomatic plates are here parked all around.

I can see : Egyptian bastards with chips

on their shoulders, and NYC Police, in 

their little blue police-guard huts, glumly

watching the terrorist streets.