H e a r t   S o n s   &   H e a r t   D a u g h t e r s   of   A l l e n   G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m   H e a l t h   S p a :   R e p o r t   2 0 1 4 :   A r c h i v e s   E d i t i o n

 

 

FRANCISCO X. ALARCON

 

 

Memorial

 

“The Pacific Garden Mall

as we know it, ceased to exist

at 5:04 today.”

––Mardi Wormhoudt

Mayor of Santa Cruz

October 17, 1989

 

do towns

suffer

like people

heartattacks

 

do buildings

get scared

too and try

to run

 

do steel

frames

get twisted

out of pain

 

do windows

break

because

they can’t cry

 

do walls let

themselves go

just

like that

 

and lie on

sidewalks

waiting

to be revived

 

is this how

old places

give birth

to new places?

 

 

[Originally published in NHS 1990, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs90/index.html#7.]