The city seems to be
a complex community
built around a series
of impoverished blocks
designed to move behind
strip malls and cracked sidewalks.

Long roads bare blaring billboards,
big shiny signs with adverts,
no cryptic intent hidden in them
just blatant contempt
for the poverty stricken
men and women
who can't afford to spend
their work week pay
on a holiday weekend.

So, the daily expenses
swallow them whole
as they drown in
a dark debt hole
and all of those
pricey baubles
make them feel
shallow and cold,
turn them bitterly old
cause the lies they were told
empty their hard-working soul,
till they get lost in the sea
of wanting the shiny new things;
Becoming devoured by
the business side
of the big city.