Villanelle for 42nd St.

N.R.

N.R.

She moves tensely along the concrete,
Below the train that arcs about the freeway,
The dirtied pedestrian street,

The underpass with its fleet
Of tents and acrid fumes, so she'll say
She moves tensely along the concrete

In a bright-colored sweater, against the sheet
Of the chipped cement's old, faded gray;
The dirtied pedestrian street

She swerves through on a scooter, never placing her feet
On the grounds of those who've cemented their stay.
She moves tensely along the concrete

Poems of their names they've etched in a feat
To keep themselves remembered in a way
The dirtied pedestrian street

Is the fire that dances in the garbage bin; it's art and heat
For the people she forgets on their cold winter day.
She moves tensely along the concrete
And dirties their homely street

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