The Poetry Corner
with Poet Kathleen Romana
"Keeping the faith"
Smoky vapor rises
from grates over city sewers,
swirls around garbage cans
through the half dark alley.
A cat darts down the fire escape
and there's a baby crying upstairs.
Stray dogs separate from the shadows,
hungry, alert to every aspect
of every movement.
Early morning Barrow Street,
a brand new day tugs at the imagination,
full of origami moments
waiting to be folded into colors and shapes
and hung on a mobile of dreams.
Balancing on a steel beam,
tight rope walkers in Sunday clothes
cross the Everett Street bridge,
over train tracks, by the stockyard.
There's a white church
bathed in rays of light,
fire and brimstone, peace and love,
instant incineration for the corrupt,
and comfort for the broken heart.