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The Pain Game

He learned these streets early
rolled dice in drive-bys
delved into hustle with both hands.
Hope strung like an addict on 5th Street
no home no where
eviction notices posted
all over memory’s dark wallpaper.
Clothes bagged
stashed in the corner
running with a lie in his shoe
leaving in the night
cursed and crawling these city’s streets.
No work no way
gotta take that jive
do it all to survive
hunger burning a trench
in an empty stomach.
Handcuffs purposely made tight
another juvie hall dispatch
judge gavel slammed down
life slit and slotted now
through the cracks
they fall
rain crying softly
in this urban sprawl.
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  1. Sad that this happens at all, much less that it’s so common. Thanks for writing about it, even if you’re “preaching to the choir”!! And like DD, I just fell in love with the line, “running with a lie in his shoe”!!

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