Gina Piro
A Persistence of Brooklyn Memory
( An Italian sonnet inspired by Richard Gere’s character from
Brooklyn’s Finest )
Raya Dimitrova
Dirty laundry, dusty sills, half-empty bottles, a stopped watch-
The only memory of where the stains on the socks are from.
The watch arrows melt in the humidity of a so-called home,
Measuring the bio-rhythms of a heroic end-of-watch.
Nothing can numb the memory, but another glass of Scotch,
Whose burning turns into a bucolic cottage the building made of
chrome.
He can share that dream with a hooker, while sharing rum,
In the obscurity of a Brownsville basement infested by a roach.
The watch has stopped, but the memory will always persist
In the joyful tears of a rescued girl,
For whom on the last day he put an uneven fight.
Even though by a prostitute he will only be kissed
And he will never forget the boy deafened while picking a swirl,
Forever will be remembered the finest Brooklynite.
Montage, May 2017 21