Notes From the Center

It was the kind of place that you expected To hear the song of an Ice Cream Truck But after word came that it also functioned As a needle exchange, people got adjusted If kids were outside playing It was because their parents had finally Packed their bags and hit the road To the nearest new region of America With it's great mall Or to the hospital, where a new start A new beginning,, like cancer or something That they could get for the pain that Wasn't exactly something you felt but Was a certain time of the day Everyone knew it, Three just weren't enough Bodegas Sometimes you needed a garbage bag And a 40oz of the finest, most inexpensive Malt liquor you could find It was likely hat you may throw up or break something So the plastic garbage bags That you threw your Letters from the state out In served an extra purpose You thought about perhaps getting A side hustle but the only thing available Involved renting out your room And moving into an alley or mental health ward The days when prices hadn't increased And a China man or a computer program Took over your employment Were long behind us But when AI took over as the mayor Of our massive population and economic zone We had enough and decided