Gutted like a fish by the future
Faces from the always past
Hard and between
Lives of labor and class
Classless and adrift
Made for horses and trams
Shoehorned in the buses and trains
Buckling under the weight of cars and multi-story parking
Skin in the game
Or showing skin instead of the game
Californian tans and luxury coffee
Pasty white faces and bad complexions
Poured into summer clothing in the dead of winter
Overcast and underserved
Moneyed yet reveling in the markers of poverty
Geographical loyalty repaid with the leavings of capitalism
Yet there is pride and belonging
Free from judgment of inherent contradiction
History and culture of independence
The art of finding one’s place in the world
A place immune to judgement
Adrift in time
But still home
Word Outlet 