this city took me in
when all other plots of land
scorned me, with their
glacial shoulders and fire eyes

the boarded up houses
turned their sagging porches
into wide mouthed grins
and the sidewalks swarmed with
rats, roaches, and strays
singing their welcome

strangers held my hand
as I wandered the West Side
passing along dimebags full
of knowledge and love, as if
I were one of their own

and slowly, but surely,
I became a piece of the patchwork,
my limbs and core feeling each
forceful pierce of the needle

I was made one with this city
that needed me
just as much as I needed it