what it is to be urban
can feel fire-like
blazing as you see yourself streak down the street
showing off your swagger
women brandish vodka in coke bottles sipped through straws
assembled in short minis
if babies don’t have their diapers changed often enough
both mother and the child suffer mentally
meanwhile the shortage of baby formula
floats through America while
that other world of money stays opaque —
a seafoam monster
swimming like a slippery eel in the dark
a gas leak comes to mind
and one man passing by said,
“I think liquidity is a good idea now.”
About the Poem
It is about the need to take care of one’s child, despite the trouble, shortage in the marketplace, and adversity.
About the Author
Vanessa H. Smith has lived and worked in India, Nepal, England, and the US. She is a writer, painter, and filmmaker and has been working since she was 12 years old. Her written work has been published in Chronogram, Silent Auctions Magazine, Poetry Apocalypse, and the Quarantine Diaries. She has been in 25 group exhibits around the world and her film work has been meaningful and awarded. To see more of her work, please visit VanessaHSmithPictures.com. For Smith, it all comes down to these things: words, chaos, nature, effort, truth, attitude, health, and whatever can be beautiful or loved.