There are children playing on the steps
of an abandoned school, gliding on skateboards,
falling to concrete in flashes of skin

On the steps above them, homeless are bundled
in their quilted abodes, asleep in the sun

Across the street, a fight rages
in muffled obscenities. Gun shots erupt,
leaving a car alarm shrieking in their wake

Sirens bleat to distant life.
The children continue to play, the homeless to sleep