Promised Heaven
in the city where I live
there are high-rise buildings so high
that you cannot live for a day
even in their basements
black hair medical doctors deliver pizza
colored skins engineers do the dishes
in Chinese restaurants
last year a Ph.D. died on the street
and buried their hope under snow
people would wait for hours for the green light
to pass the cross
even if there is no car on the street
but they do not hear the swearing of the man
who sits on the 3rd step of the university library building
then he gets tired gets his bike and circles around
while sticking his tongue in and out
giving them the signal to pass the cross
every day they come more and more
every day he cuts more and more
and I feel there would soon be a demand for coupons
for air to breathe
(c) syavash shaghayegh
august 31, 1998
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