nicole

[january.24.2008.2:15pm]

"memories on corners with the..."
-common


she offered her
slabs of concrete
to us as our
territory,
slabs of concrete
that rose with
the earth;
sloped with our
fearless thrill
seeking children
bravery.

the gas station
marked her beginning,
the corner store
signaled her end;
everything in
between we pissed,
spat and stomped on.

nicole didnt have
a pool for us to
frolick in,
but the hydrant up
top was all ours...

even when the
fire department
came to place
claims on water
that didnt belong
to them either.

nicole made it
so that having
a dollar a day
equated to being
wealthy at our
naive age.

she didnt require
parent supervision
as most city parks
displayed signs of.

the limp metal
fences that
enclosed yards
of balding earth
were zoo cages;
every other
yard wed see
an assortment
of canines;
our rottweiler
never failed to
bark at these
often vicious beasts.

nicole watched over
our lives when our
carelessness grew
to be victorious
of our caution that
never existed.

she molded herself
into every landscape
that our young minds
envisioned.

her street lamps
didnt act as warnings
telling us to return
home;
wed just subtract
more distance between
us and the porch.

her empty hallways
tickled our voices
into echoes that most
times shoulve been
whispers.

nicoles apple
trees were often
fruitless
year round,
but fruitful
became of our
laughter as
we fought,
cursed and didnt
give a fuck as did
our parents and
older siblings
cared a fuck
less about us.