THE THORN [ EXCERPT ]

___________________

 

March 2014:

 

The Thorn I knew

Still stands on Rose Street, off Market,

Across from Zuni's.

 

The shell, anyway.

 

The last technological

Gold Rush in the 2000s--

Biotech--changed parts of San Fran

And with them, my old squat.

 

1908 stable house--

A piece of obsolescence 

Attached to new school

Steel and blue glass opulence--Eight floors worth.

 

I wear black to recall

The loss of a home that kept me off the street,

That I wanted to provide to others in my situation,

A safe haven that was taken from me.

Remembering the loss of a home

I was forced out of.

A time to mourn. A moment for tears.

_______________________________

W: 3.14

[ From the book The Mansion: Liberated Zones Inside The Controlled Inner City, Gnashing Teeth Publishing, 2025. ]

 

Zuni's: High-priced Italian & French restaurant on Rose & Market Streets, Upper Market neighbourhood of San Francisco.