Frozen Streets Of Pittsburgh
© Surazeus
2018 12 18
Revenge of cold wind clutching at steel girders
penetrates frail bones to crystallize marrow
through skeleton of the city-wide rails
that form lattice of elevated tracks
where passenger trains rattle hopeless clanks
as they glide through maze of trembling brick halls.
Alfonso huddles in pickup truck cab,
enclosed around his chest to retain warmth,
and stares through dirt-smeared windshield at gray smog
that gropes with naked teeth to suck his soul,
then blows on callused fingers in worn gloves,
hoping to recall the meaning of life.
Driving maze in the frozen streets of Pittsburgh,
Alfonso thinks about sweet scent of beef
roasting in the oven for Christmas meal,
and considers heading out to the pub
to drink beer and watch the big football game
instead of building houses in cold wind.
For thirteen years since I finished high school
I have worked on building houses in suburbs,
following vocation of my old father
who worked since he arrived from Italy
when he was twelve, just after World War Two,
always hammering hard nails in heat or cold.
Turning left to head over to the pub,
Alfonso accelerates to drive quickly
through the light before he changes his mind,
and the man runs out in front of his truck
so the grill thumps against his fragile body
before Alfonso can slam on the breaks.
Heart beating against his chest like swift hawk
trapped in iron cage, Alfonso stares shocked
at snow flakes melting on dirt-smeared windshield,
while clutching the steering wheel with hard fists,
then shuts off the engine with rattling clumps,
and pushes open the door to cold wind.
Kneeling on asphalt in soul-tearing wind,
Alfonso touches face of the dead man,
pale skin smeared from the collision with blood,
then notices the pistol in one hand
and the bag of dollar bills in the other,
as if the dead man had just robbed some bank.
Looking around for police in pursuit,
Alfonso sees nobody on the street,
so he snatches large bag of dollar bills,
jumps back in his truck, starts the rumbling engine,
and drives quickly past locked doors to turn right
then glides into traffic to head back home.
Parking in his usual spot by the pole,
Alfonso runs upstairs to small apartment
where he lives alone after his wife left,
and sits at the table with bag of money,
bundled in rolls of hundred-dollar bills,
then he whoops in delight, and drinks hot coffee.
Closing the curtain and locking the door,
Alfonso drinks coffee and counts the money,
snapping the rubber band to count one roll
of fifty hundred-dollar bills rolled tight,
so if every roll is five thousand dollars,
then, he stares surprised at his great good fortune.
Counting one hundred and fifty tight rolls,
he writes that number on torn envelope,
and tries to remember his high school math
as he times that by five thousand to sum
seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
so he jumps up and down and whoops with joy.
Dividing that amount by twenty thousand,
the normal amount he earns every year,
he trembles with amazement to realize
he can live more than thirty seven years
if he continues with his current lifestyle,
or he could invest and make himself rich.
How can I invest this money today
so I can live for the rest of my life,
Alfonso ponders as he sits and stares
at flies crawling on the living room wall,
and thinks about when he was growing up
how his mother tended vegetable gardens.
All the great civilizations of history
are based on the farmer tending his crops
so the priests, warriors, and state officials
live off the labor of the humble man
who extracts food from the heart of the Earth,
so I will drive south and purchase a farm.
Packing all his clothes in the duffel bag,
Alfonso drives to the scrap-metal yard
where his high school pal purchases his truck,
his father gave him thirteen years before,
then rides the bus through crowded city maze
to the large lot where they sell brand new trucks.
Purchasing the latest model pickup truck,
Alfonso drives over Appalachian hills,
leaving behind the frozen streets of Pittsburgh
to glide among lush rolling hills of Georgia
where sun flickers gold through the leaves of trees
and shimmers warm on the broad flowing stream.
Purchasing fertile farmland by the river,
Alfonso relaxes in the rocking chair
on the shady porch of the old wood house,
and watches sunlight sparkle on the water,
as he plans to buy horses, chickens, cows,
and fruit trees to flourish on the lush fields.
Attending the local town Baptist church,
Alfonso meets the pretty blue-eyed girl
whose father runs the bookstore near the college,
so after dating her for eighteen months
he asks her to marry him by the river,
and they kiss as the moonlight shines through trees.
Tending the farm together thirty years,
Alfonso and Tamara raise five children,
who graduate from college and get married,
then on the anniversary of their wedding
they host their large family at Christmas time,
feasting and singing by the flickering hearth.
Dressed as Santa Claus in the rocking chair,
Alfonso gazes at fifteen grandchildren,
with his whole family gathered by the hearth,
and tells them tale how he hit the bank robber
and escaped the grim frozen streets of Pittsburgh
with enough money to purchase the farm.
© Surazeus
2018 12 18
Revenge of cold wind clutching at steel girders
penetrates frail bones to crystallize marrow
through skeleton of the city-wide rails
that form lattice of elevated tracks
where passenger trains rattle hopeless clanks
as they glide through maze of trembling brick halls.
Alfonso huddles in pickup truck cab,
enclosed around his chest to retain warmth,
and stares through dirt-smeared windshield at gray smog
that gropes with naked teeth to suck his soul,
then blows on callused fingers in worn gloves,
hoping to recall the meaning of life.
Driving maze in the frozen streets of Pittsburgh,
Alfonso thinks about sweet scent of beef
roasting in the oven for Christmas meal,
and considers heading out to the pub
to drink beer and watch the big football game
instead of building houses in cold wind.
For thirteen years since I finished high school
I have worked on building houses in suburbs,
following vocation of my old father
who worked since he arrived from Italy
when he was twelve, just after World War Two,
always hammering hard nails in heat or cold.
Turning left to head over to the pub,
Alfonso accelerates to drive quickly
through the light before he changes his mind,
and the man runs out in front of his truck
so the grill thumps against his fragile body
before Alfonso can slam on the breaks.
Heart beating against his chest like swift hawk
trapped in iron cage, Alfonso stares shocked
at snow flakes melting on dirt-smeared windshield,
while clutching the steering wheel with hard fists,
then shuts off the engine with rattling clumps,
and pushes open the door to cold wind.
Kneeling on asphalt in soul-tearing wind,
Alfonso touches face of the dead man,
pale skin smeared from the collision with blood,
then notices the pistol in one hand
and the bag of dollar bills in the other,
as if the dead man had just robbed some bank.
Looking around for police in pursuit,
Alfonso sees nobody on the street,
so he snatches large bag of dollar bills,
jumps back in his truck, starts the rumbling engine,
and drives quickly past locked doors to turn right
then glides into traffic to head back home.
Parking in his usual spot by the pole,
Alfonso runs upstairs to small apartment
where he lives alone after his wife left,
and sits at the table with bag of money,
bundled in rolls of hundred-dollar bills,
then he whoops in delight, and drinks hot coffee.
Closing the curtain and locking the door,
Alfonso drinks coffee and counts the money,
snapping the rubber band to count one roll
of fifty hundred-dollar bills rolled tight,
so if every roll is five thousand dollars,
then, he stares surprised at his great good fortune.
Counting one hundred and fifty tight rolls,
he writes that number on torn envelope,
and tries to remember his high school math
as he times that by five thousand to sum
seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
so he jumps up and down and whoops with joy.
Dividing that amount by twenty thousand,
the normal amount he earns every year,
he trembles with amazement to realize
he can live more than thirty seven years
if he continues with his current lifestyle,
or he could invest and make himself rich.
How can I invest this money today
so I can live for the rest of my life,
Alfonso ponders as he sits and stares
at flies crawling on the living room wall,
and thinks about when he was growing up
how his mother tended vegetable gardens.
All the great civilizations of history
are based on the farmer tending his crops
so the priests, warriors, and state officials
live off the labor of the humble man
who extracts food from the heart of the Earth,
so I will drive south and purchase a farm.
Packing all his clothes in the duffel bag,
Alfonso drives to the scrap-metal yard
where his high school pal purchases his truck,
his father gave him thirteen years before,
then rides the bus through crowded city maze
to the large lot where they sell brand new trucks.
Purchasing the latest model pickup truck,
Alfonso drives over Appalachian hills,
leaving behind the frozen streets of Pittsburgh
to glide among lush rolling hills of Georgia
where sun flickers gold through the leaves of trees
and shimmers warm on the broad flowing stream.
Purchasing fertile farmland by the river,
Alfonso relaxes in the rocking chair
on the shady porch of the old wood house,
and watches sunlight sparkle on the water,
as he plans to buy horses, chickens, cows,
and fruit trees to flourish on the lush fields.
Attending the local town Baptist church,
Alfonso meets the pretty blue-eyed girl
whose father runs the bookstore near the college,
so after dating her for eighteen months
he asks her to marry him by the river,
and they kiss as the moonlight shines through trees.
Tending the farm together thirty years,
Alfonso and Tamara raise five children,
who graduate from college and get married,
then on the anniversary of their wedding
they host their large family at Christmas time,
feasting and singing by the flickering hearth.
Dressed as Santa Claus in the rocking chair,
Alfonso gazes at fifteen grandchildren,
with his whole family gathered by the hearth,
and tells them tale how he hit the bank robber
and escaped the grim frozen streets of Pittsburgh
with enough money to purchase the farm.
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