Shiver on a hot day

Diamond Row in Philly

was no garden party.

The sidewalk bereft,

a Tennessee walker,

purple velvet painting

leaning on a 40-

lazy hoodlum still life

with a twist of menace

waiting behind the gate.

 

Subway tunnels nearby

held no cheese (or hope)

but a nice Twinkie

waited in the Wawa

at dawn in the suburbs.