Pier Kids

Teach me how to steal
before the cold air clutches my throat,
before unmarked cop cars
snatch my newborn from wheeled throne,
before prostitution becomes priority,
then propriety all with no home.

You shift over on the park bench
when he sits to your right.
He says he’s off for the finance district
with top shelf whiskey in sight.
First, he lectures on Trayvon Martin
before marching off,
fluorescent in the night.

“The thought of being positive
has crossed my mind,
I would have housing in 3 days.”
Incentivizing HIV in our time
all to make a human right exclusive.
Build more condos, it’s fine.

Michael Carney