17 luxury condominiums
electronically protected
from criminal hungerthe homeless
seeking a night’s warmth
across from the soup kitchen
St. Vincent’s Hospital
razor wire covering the hot air grates.
Disrobed need
shrieks through the nearby streets.
Some no longer beg.
a brown sloe-eyed boy
picks blotches from his face
eyes my purse shivering
white dust a holy fire
in his blood
at the cornerfantasy
parodies desirereplaces longing
Green light.The boy turns back
to the steaming grates.
Down the street in a show-window
cameraHavana
the well-shaped woman smiles
waves her plump arm along
half-filled market shelves
excess expectation
dusts across her words
“Si hubieran capitalismo
hubiesen tomates aquí!”
“If we had capitalism
tomatoes would be here now.”