Thine Alabaster Cities Gleam

In the land of delusion and denial
latch key kids
roam pioneer malls searching for
frontiers of their own

Graying war vets move out again
wearing white laced sneakers
in platoons of twos and threes
dodging landmines of spit
and wads of gum

Half eaten cheeseburgers
and pizza crusts
overflow trash bins onto
linoleum prairies littered
with crumpled dreams

These domed centers of humanity
shield new age marketplaces
of glittering chain stores and eateries
from the whims of nature
for those who hoard the plenty

And outside their walls, beneath the bridges,
in tenement buildings, along shabby streets,
hungry and abandoned children
of the great republic crouch hungry,
empty-handed, waiting for their ration
of the amber waves of grain

“America! America!…”