The taxis and the saxophones are loose
if beauty waits a week then I could sleep
the smoke break of the suicidal man
the galleries display the desperate skin
gorillas eating rubies by the fist
The modern man, he takes in all of this
The sheepish and the meek will dance in arms
the strong and fierce will fight and bruise
The peddlers and the popes both ask for change
politicans bite you like vampires
The firehydrants foaming at the lips
the modern man, he takes in all of this
Bikinis leaning on the lambs while lions spit
Believe the preacher the pews are made of oak
It is desperately hot without a fan
Our electricity is half dead yet zipping, crunch!
Dip the ink pens in
swimming pools of supersonic myth
the modern man, he takes in all of this
Dressed in rags, the fiddler hides his eyes
Yet his music blends in with the motors
The dreary cypress tress of New Orleans
they poke out of my skin like bayonets
The darkest nights shed skin and hold no bliss
the modern man, he takes in all of this
Plumbing and paperwork, cloaks soaked in acid
Ceiling fans decapitated pigeons, it was a hawk
The snow is tattered yet pure white from the sky
The four horsemen read the for rent signs
belive me, it doesn't do any good
when they show up, there goes the neighborhood
Optimism missed the evening train
Yet the sun will rise with fury while neon blinks
To the passerby, by chance, need a lift?
The modern man, he takes in all of this
Poem and photos by Hannah Frank