Bombpops at Noon

Several cities within towns, tribes/black and white
Suburbs: Holophane boxes
square-cut cars and malls.
Downtown: spiral stairs, clean swept towers.
Inner cities: places I hardly go.

Today is a different story.

Defined cages; trappings.
A whore and a strolling car.
Bicycles dodging through traffic.
The ice cream truck passing through.
We lined up, looking for a cool breeze
to beat the heat out of us.

Bombpops at noon.
Pulled off the wrapper, sucked on
sweet sugar flow. Children begging
for a buck to buy another.

I leaned into the truck and bought
two more. One for Quiana, one for a boy
whose name I don't know.
A few blocks away
Similar trades
were taking place.