Song of an Ancient New York City God

king of the block

king of kings

skinny muscle open hydrant god

fire escape pull up champ

turnstile gazelle

nobody fucks with you

fear of god

Apollo of the block

summoned by the bird call

curls glisten in the sun

eyes ablaze

on concrete

bluetooth speaker tropical beats

Astarte of the block

Double dutch dance

sidewalk rhythm

knuckle up stance

ancient tradition

of the infinite hopscotch

Viejita of the block

Mother of us all

Omniscient from on high

Between blinds and window guards

count the children like the stars

give them names like constellations

big god come through

It rains market value

deluge

Like arrows or crows in the sky

God of Nimrod,

Babel builder

now you a minor god

not even in the pantheon

not in the house of money changers

not in the house of judges

not in the house of prayer

big god manifests

sirens like thunderbolts

simply by big god’s breath

heads rocked

big god remakes earth

steel and glass mountains

where the bricks and wood used to be

you an ancient god now

Endless exodus god

Infinite diaspora god

your present is the past

from the beginning nothing lasts

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