6B Panorama

I was sitting on my fire escape and I saw Sturdy bridges, decorated with dirty pigeons A vagabond begging for three pennies and a princess A junkie tourniquet surgeon urging the needle in A batty senior citizen flashing that awful teethless grin I saw a corner store merchant rest on a milk crate with a stog' A pierced nose, a model with a stalker, cheap hooker, jay walkers A table on a sidewalk with four old men slappin' dominos down A city, a village, a neighborhood, a ghost town I saw vandals catching tags and Puerto Rican flags I saw a pregnant woman on the verge of bursting I saw a blind man with a dog screaming someday I'll see it all And then he sat down with his hammer and saw Business men with multi-colored ties, cashing their checks A Nazi with tattoos on his neck, a Vietnam War vet A Caucasian man with a limp and a cane, a pimp with his dames A thug circus, a pack of shook tourists hugging their purses I saw freaks with rainbow streaks in dayglo hair A mother smackin' the grin off her child, replaced it with a stare A pothole, a storefront with a broken open sign A hole in the wall bar kicking drunks to the gutter, it's closing time I see a fuck up, a bum knuckle up with a taxi driver A squatter, a grandfather, an angry right-to-lifer I can see the roof garden on the apartment across the street And kick myself because somewhere along the way I lost my seeds I see a rat, a roach, a bat approach, a happy student A black man with a horn and a will to make you sit and listen to it I see a little girl on the corner with bubbles, braids and barrettes I see a teen mother with Similac, pacifier, and regrets Oh, a day turned stale, a hammer with a rusty nail, a failed marriage A universe of brick buildings slightly off balance A challenge, I see a chance to add real colors to my favorite palette Raise my mighty mallet towards the gods and swing my talents I see a crack in the sidewalk A slide show of sick civilians gripping bottles like idiots Sitting inside bent meridians There's a fun house ooh, a sun spout Spraying yellow beams above yellow back dreams And children in the hydrants Hybrids, I see sirens The wall to the glamor standard A dead bird, a red curb A bus stop where commuters wait to have their souls towed off to work I see the slapdash habits of bike messengers pausing To huff that good leaf on the way to damage packages for peddlers Oh my lord, I see bandwagons, all aboard A carnival amusement park where a heart is a luxury I see a gas galaxy huddled behind those pearly doors Maybe I should sit up on my fire escape a little more