A Bigger Slice of Sky
A Bigger Slice of Sky
The sky was only visible
in long narrow slices
while we played on
one-way
Brooklyn streets
Thick with kids
apartment houses
one next to the other
lined the sidewalks
like great canyon walls
rising six or eight stories
while the sun moved
through the day
creating hard edged
shadows that flowed
and softened
with each passing hour
street level storefronts
shoulder to shoulder
with large plate glass
windows that invited you
to witness what was happening inside
candy stores next to tailor shops
shoeshine parlors
drug stores
butchers and purveyors of pickles
each with the proprietor's name
etched in big bold letters
at Cohen’s candy store
mr. Cohen made your
egg cream and gave you
a 2 cent pretzel to munch
Joey Thomazula shined your shoes
at Joey’s bootblack parlor and
took bets in the back room
Doc Felcher mixed your
cough syrup at
Felcher’s drug store and
crazy Louie
the pickle man
dipped into the brine barrel
barehanded to get you
a big fat kosher dill
Brooklyn one-way streets
were a great place
to be in those days
every block it’s own
self-contained universe
but I ran from them
as soon as I could
far from towering
beehive apartments
desperate for a
bigger slice of sky...
Copyright © Art Fasbender | Year Posted 2019
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