I saw Ground Zero and me.
In silent night, as blizzard raged on New York State, I was
busted stealing bread from a bakery. Across frozen river, I saw a symbol of
freedom obscured by snow. It made me recollect being one of many gems in the
crown of higher education. It was springtime when our sixth grade English
teacher took her children on a field trip to Ellis Island.
On a clear day, like a song goes, you can see forever.
I didn’t know how to ask for help after head injuries.
I saw recovered dreams are few to fight legions of
nightmares in sleepless city. Pride and
anger were enemies on the better angel of my nature.
I found a job off the grid to keep from getting exhausted
from hunger. It paid 50 dollars for garbage removal from Wall Street to The
West Side and on and on for hours in frozen air that doubled workload of heavy
bags to be lifted, thrown and crushed.
I caught my second wind in the background of a gift given by
France to this country. I realized the name of the garbage truck was the same
as a queen of Spain that gave currency to an Italian navigator to find a new
reality called America
I found poetry in the garbage business to help people out of
poverty.
It pays the rent for being here.
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