exchanging hands on the black market
there is love & hate
happening on hollywood avenue
I try to stay
on the right side of the street
my dreams keep telling me
everything I’m gonna miss
but I don’t get the half of it
waking up at 2 am to gunshot
pit bulls barking up & down the street
what few truths there are left
(inalienable or otherwise)
ricochet up & down the boulevard
the scorching sun
attempting to eradicate all the lies
baked within
august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved