Summer in Philadelphia

It was a Tuesday in July

When I moved to the city

Garbage day

The sun warmed spoilt milk

and baby diapers and

the insides of yesterday's take out containers

The stench wafted through the streets

As empty bags of chips and crumpled newspapers

Blew across sidewalks like urban tumbleweeds

And I felt alive among the decay

Flowers were nice, but they made me feel ugly

Here imperfections are rendered beautiful

By brilliant shades of neon

And there's a buzzing that comforts me in the dark

When it's hot like that

Everyone sits outside on their front stoops

Drinking bodega beers to the sounds of The Roots

And the only grass anyone's worried about

Is the kind that helps you cut the bullshit

Not your front lawn

It was summer in Philadelphia