In the ironbound section near Avenue L
where the Portuguese women come to see what you sell
the clouds so low the morning so slow

as the wires cut through the sky

The beams and bridges cut the light on the ground

into little triangles and the rails run round
through the rust and the heat
the light and sweet coffee color of her skin


Bound up in wire and fate
watching her walk him up to the gate

in front of the ironbound school yard.

Kids will grow like weeds on a fence

She says they look for the light they try to make sense.
They come up through the cracks
Like grass on the tracks

She touches him goodbye.

Steps off the curb and into the street

the blood and feathers near her feet
into the ironbound market


In the ironbound section near Avenue L
where the Portuguese women come to see what you sell
the clouds so low the morning so slow

as the wires cut through the sky

She stops at the stall

fingers the ring
opens her purse
feels a longing

away from the ironbound border

"Fancy poulty parts sold here.

Breasts and thighs and hearts.
Backs are cheap and wings are nearly free.
Nearly free"