The black cat traversed the alley
when the pavement kept the rain.
The houses gave no answer.
No one looked out from the windows.
It walked across
the broken concrete.
It stood near the wall of bricks
until the rain
tapped the metal above its head.
It passed those corners
as before.
It let out one low cry.
The alley heard it alone.
The storm stayed over the alley.
The alley then grew silent.
Daylight came over the roofs.
The old bricks kept their place
but no shadow crossed them.
(5-21-26 For "Snapshots of a Night Scene" Contest Sponsor - Nette Onclaud)
Dusk slowly approaches, as their energy finally begins to wane. Half flat soccer balls
speedily sent down a grassless, asphalt field by crooked, knobby sticks.
Stubby chunks of chalk - pink, yellow, blue, white. Hopscotch squares already fading
Frayed jump ropes swinging up, around, and down,
their satisfying soft smacks on the ground, keeping rhythm.
Delighted squeals of joy, laughter, calling out of names to friends, classmates, neighbors, siblings...
Somehow, this view left me remembering
my days of young, pondering the timeless satisfactions and yearnings of youth.
Gentle raindrops begin to splat red and orange leaves, partially painted the weed-lined pavement
Small shadows scatter and go wherever it is they go when the night sets in.
With night fall, the tiny scraps of humanity
congregated in the alley with stories of day’s adventures
their laughter creating waves in the silent dark.
Barefoot they wandered through scorching tarmac roads
with soiled clothes and hunger in their bellies.
As the cold winds swept past their bare faces
they slid into sleep’s embrace curling in some dark corner.
Somehow this view left me wonder if they will wake up
with the kiss of dawn to see another day’s fruitless platter
or will they bloom like wild weeds from the stony cracks!
The world of street children got liberty
Lost their shyness behind the drapes of dark
Their moms busy for the next day's planning
A second innings of their play resumed
Hide and seek raising dust clouds from the ground
Hitting peers, falling down but no worries
When the drifting cloud curtains masked the moon
A deathly hush crammed the entire alley
Whistles and shouts of joy when it crawled out
Somehow, this view left me untainted joy
Place : 1 st
the alley retains memories and secrets
things she has observed would straighten my hair
murder, mayhem and mischief
I sense her wiseness in the silence
appreciating her confidentiality
There was no grand sunset
painting the sky with
orange and pink hues.
no stars shining down
from Heaven,
no moon to light the way
to salvation
no one to pray for his soul
in the cold and dark
as he lay down
closed his eyes
and said goodbye
to the memories
Where will you be living? Asked his cousin Callie
Easy, said country mouse, I will be residing in an alley
Do you think that’s a good idea? Is it where you should be?
He could think of no reason not, so moved to Tennessee.
The alley was gorgeous in the evening, lots of tasty stuff to eat.
This is amazing said the country mouse who loved the summer heat.
In morning, he wandered out with his coffee to get a bite of this and that.
He was chased by not only sixteen alley cats, but a determined angry rat.
Love sinks low,singing-
A duet between drowning hearts.
Her smile is the last breath before the tar closes in.
I play my guitar till the strings blisters,
Till the bubbles stop breaking the surface.
Still,the Cheshire Cat keeps playing,
Because silence is the deepest pit of all.
bowling alley boogie
oh no, a split!
shmoogie loogie moogie
you can do it!
my score is twelve
the others are up to eighty-five
bowling alley boogie
held in bit of a dive
no smoking signs totally ignored
crack! opponent got a loud strike
we reach for a ball together
crack! He gets another strike
ashtrays are full at every table in this place
proof we ignore the rules, without any grace
I wipe out a fifth time, my total up to seventy-two.
The others are over two hundred; I am glad we’re through.
Mixie BeeBee of Stray Cat Alley
was a creature who would dilly dally
she teased the toms all along the way
making her tail swish and sway
as alluring as tuna fish
a pretty feline, exotic dish
backyard cat said Grandma Ellis
saying this because she was jealous?
A violent vortex of velocity
A vacuum of voracious vices
Such feral ferocious ferocity
Driven by devilish devices
Troubles double when it doubles its haste
Caught up in currents of circumstance
Rumbling rabble through the rubble and waste
Dancing its devil's dark dervish dance
I lost my way on a dark alley
Where I faced endless crossroads
And made a pact with my resolve
I had picked the void as my way
Then I was lost, down and shaky
Yet salvation awaits, an avenue off this space-black path
Its light warms my feet
Carving trails back to the source of creation
I find joy along these trails
Knowing within myself
Victory is near
Stopping in an alley on a summer day
rainbow trash exhaling its hot fetid breath
a scamper of invisible residents
searching for the remains of elegant dining
the Nordic hum of struggling A/C units
as an evening sun seems to avoid entry
music drifts from an open window
slowly fades in the humidity
peeking over my shoulder
I slide behind the dumpster…
The raindrops fall into the paper cup of tea
The teabag shrinks as if it could be my remark
Unlatch the green door to the childlike mystery
It’s possible again to enter that old park
The busts and statues of the gods and greats
And shaded benches in the niches of the trees
There in the memory another alley waits
I haven’t walked on it to see where to it leads
Oh no! Those wobbly slabs I’ve walked before
The seagulls cry, the wind blows up the sand
Then comes the sound of the muted piano chords
I’ve no idea why I hear this again.
Alley-Oop
WHO
TOLD
YOU
THAT
YOU
WERE
NAKED!!!
"She Did,"
Adam Said...
"What?"
-Gray Squirrel
06-03-2025
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