Harlem New York

I walked through Harlem just the other day. The Harlem I knew as a child has totally gone away. I use to play hooky from school and I ran those streets at night. But now you can't even find a descent street fight. There use to be soul food joint's all over the place. But now Harlem New York has a different face. Don't get me wrong I think change is ok. But now there's other people living where I use to lay. 125th street just don't look the same. Now all the store's have different names. There use to be A.J. Lester's and the Record Shack. Now all the stores got names that are whack. Now I see an Old Navy store and a Chucky Cheese. Can someone tell me where Harlem went please. What happened to the movie theater between 7th and 8th. Now it sit's there just an empty old place. But the Apollo theater still looks good. It's always been the crown jewel of our neighborhood. And I remember when Harlem World was open night and day. But now even that spot is a damn Conway. Don't get our wrong it does look nice and pretty. But Harlem use to be it's very own city. You knew you were in Harlem when you walked down the street. Because Harlem use to have it's own heartbeat. But now we can't even afford the rents that they charge. Because everyone knows our pockets ain't that large. I'm afraid I'll go to sleep one night. And when I wake up Harlem will be all white. c. R. Mendoza