Those Cracks In Sidewalks Never Leave

A City Street 1875

Hitching posts line
cobblestone streets,
awnings open to shade
a window of glass; in
rain, iron floats in air.

At the entrance a
proprietor leans against
a wall of brick; he stares
at a city street twisting
turning between blooms
on a dogwood tree..

At Center Street a
wooden box reads
deposit trash.

A horse, upset, swings
a wooden wagon; youths
in knickers run to fetch
fruit bouncing on
cobblestone.

A proprietor stares
as a horse defecates
in front of his property;
knowing summer heat
will keep his front door
closed until men who
carry shovels clear
the air – till then, it’s
a quiet day.

Nancy Duci Denofio
copyright