¿The State of My Soul?

State of My Soul Address
I find myself
thinking,
as I walk
back and forth
and back to work,
spying the smack
addicts drooping
on the bus stops,
the dried shit dripped
to piles in alcoves
long abandoned,
the 30something
black medusa
schizo woman
shouting obscenities
& tossing her fists
at the sky as if the sun
itself had cursed her...

I find myself
wondering as I weave
within and without
construction zones
scheduled for so-called
urban renewal—brand new
bricks stacked & set
to re-cover the sidewalks
currently coated by crack
vials & used syringes,
I think & wonder
& ask myself:

Can you revitalize
the neighborhood
without revitalizing
the neighbors?

How do we unite
states hell bent
on long destruction
and self division?

Are there enough
shoulders to carry
the weight of this
world?

& how do we find
enough shoulders
if we only ever
preach to our own
choirs?

My soul is sick
with these questions
and the realization
that souls sicker than mine
continue to spread
CONTAGION.