for Radek
it is a grey place
a place built of grey
plastered with grey
lined with grey
a place of straight roads, of straight corners
of roads & corners fenced with plate glass
fenced with plastic
it is a wide-open place
a place of many openings
a place no one can find his way into
a place with many roads leading to it
a place with only one road out
it is a place of dim rooms, of cramped balconies
of thin walls, walls that echo long after a fight
of low ceilings, looming ceilings
where all feels tight, feels crammed, feels stuck
where no one ever leaves
a place few know how to leave
a place most don't ever think of leaving
it is a place of misery, of dread
a place where dread is shared, is spread, is handed down
handed down from father to son
handed down by every mother
here hips are broken
legs are broken
here there is abuse, there is cursing
here footsteps heard on pavement send shivers down a grown man's spine
here eyes squint even when it's cloudy
a place the sun doesn't reach
where the shining sun pricks like a needle
a place that makes you wait for the breeze, makes you wait till you're stiff in the knees
a wind-tossed place
a place of sheet rain, of bullet hail
of snow that covers everything
snow that buries streets, buries men, buries all
a place with a past remembered by none
it is a place of weeping & of wailing
of back-hand slaps & sudden disappearance
a place the weepers & the wailers never abandon
it is a place long abandoned