I lost my pride
This afternoon
Beside
A "For Rent" sign
Howling into the dusty air
Of Jersey Avenue construction
Wiping nose dribble
On my read pleather coat
You asked me
On three separate occasions
If I felt like a refugee
But today
You see how freely breath flows
Down streets of stirring winds
We are
Restless spirits skimming
Garden State concrete
Voices meet at coconut stands and
Abandoned buildings,
Rumble through brand-new, luxury apartment
Complexes,
Intersect waterfront construction sites, flashing
PATH train lights
We speak a mixed language: part hipster café, part railroad-track
Traced back generations
Or maybe just arrived, exiles
Of Manhattan
Happening onto the same square mile
Of defiled brick
And sleek stone,
Carving homes out of noisy streets
Jersey City tunes our screams
Like a grand piano
– Christine Goodman (The author is the host of the Art House poetry open mic at Victory Hall at 186 Grand St. in Jersey City. The next event, scheduled for Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., will feature a reading by Adam Wade and a performance by Butterspy. For information visit www.arthouseproductions.org.)