untitled mania

I am standing on a cement island

Cold with urine and

Speckled with rat droppings

In-between the subway tracks and

They are running really fast tonight

Boxcars on cocaine

Numb and paranoid

They move away from me

I reached for him, but...

In opposite directions, they

Speed east and west --

Southbound and northbound --

And the headlights blind me

I see a little girl asleep on the track

The unbearable sounds drive me mad

Just above the transient's moan

They choke on the soot from

The engines and cigars

And surrounded by graffiti smoke

They wander, searching for

Their hearts trapped in limbo, and

Their souls are emptied for --

Or, are they offered in exchange for --

Just take

Whatever the fuck

You can get.

Numbing the despondency

That carries their high like

Ghosts stalking the underground travelers

Sitting in the rafters on

The elevated beams made of steel

Businessmen in grey and

Businesswomen dressed like men, and

They come and they go without reason

In hysterical patterns set to

Repeat daily. And --

They dance like clowns

Desperate for amusement

And they bargain to escape

But you can hear the history

Of the passengers past --

Echoing at night

Praying for an extra stop

Under the city streets and --

We are ALL looking for peace

Hiding in darkness