Stickman crossing the Brooklyn bridge
concrete under my feet
bathed in amber light
the blues in my walking beat.
I sing
Black don't mean
I can't afford abstraction
before Picasso
cubism was my invention.
White line down the middle
and a sign bouncing amber light
says stickman to the left
cyclist to the right.
At the base of the bridge it's 9:53
at the peak the American flag
over the constant drones of cars
my thoughts ride on the back
of a seagull
in a flyyy duffel bag.
Kingdom Hall to my left
BQE to my right
Brooklyn in the middle
in the middle in the middle.
When the amber light breaks ranks
I rise above the cars
the concrete gives way to boardwalk planks
the old fashioned white bulbs become my stars.
I stop a second to feel the boardwalks vibration
the tremor shakes me into contemplation.
On the Manhattan bridge to my left
a train is a dotted line of lights
injectin' itself into Brooklyn
with ease and power and deft.
I try to lose myself in a blind bliss
but knowledge won't leave me
won't throw me a parting kiss.
aah, the beauty in that clay tone
I could have married her for her hands alone.
Cars go thradup, thradup over
the seam that holds the bridge together.
Angles cables and pink pipelines swoop
up to meet
the luge bricktower
I've been walking an hour
courtesy of the clock on the watchtower.
I'm a stickman alone in my loss.
Can't you see
I'm going crazee
over the possibilities of freedom
I just wanna be, let me be
schizophrenic me.
Maybe, just maybe
I don't need to get to the other side.
JUMP? and hasten my passage to hell?
that reminds me of a story my stickdaddy use to tell
he said, if you wanna be a superhero
start from ground zero.
Superman flies from ground to sky
don't be so quick to wish this world
ba-bye.
Besides, can't stand being suspended on the air
not since Action Park bungee jumping.
No, I'm too arrogant for suicides snare.
At my worst the world still needs my saving.
I step off the I-beam and sing.
Black, don't mean
I can't afford abstractions
look me in the eye
you'll see surrealistic reflections. |
