Black Garden (2673 Dundee Pl.)

In this black garden

Of carrion light

There is a suspension of motion and stillness

That hollows the night

In this black garden

Of heartbreak and wonder

The banks are all ablaze

Self-satisfied

As they plunder

I am alone on this hill

These vistas are certain

I may be frightened by the sounds

Of history crying as it drowns

But I will pull back the curtain

In this black garden

I once called the selfish city

I try to calculate the anguish

And the anger and all the aspirations

Of the millions who have lived here and will live in desperation

Who are careful and are careless

Whom I have cheated

Who thought the swindle that I offered was a salve

I am alone on this hill

These vistas are certain

I may be frightened by the sounds

Of history crying as it drowns

But I will pull back the curtain

In this black garden

Of carrion light

There is a suspension of motion and stillness

That hollows the night