99 Liberty Lane

Schubert serenades the alley
   from the basement to the seventh floor,
She used to live with Dr. Oomashrawi till
   a tummy tuck sued he fled to Singapore;
Fifth floor rear slams the window cracks a
   beer, can’t stand another cat’s meow,
His homely wife’s unimpressed,
   “You’re gonna kill my beauty rest
      with that F-ing window down!”
In twelve C, Sheri’s focused as can be,
   "The Sopranos" mask her moans,
After three nights fishing only
   catching a cold, she boldly goes it alone;
She freezes at the bangbang knock on her door,
   it’s the pizza man off by a floor,
A soft porn set-up if ever there was, but
   Sheri closes her eyes, Carmella wants more.

Just another day
   at 99 Liberty Lane

The doorman’s a double for Ronald Reagan,
   but he votes like Gore Vidal,
Professor Glenn can’t help but condescend
   and teases “Bonzo” was the
      best chimp movie of all;
Melissa and Marvin need to eat,
   both are starving, catch the elevator
      down from fourteen,
Pizzaman mutters “Hell,”
   joins the pair at number twelve,
      then the elevator dies with a scream;
Bailey Evans and her boyfriend Dan
   sport headphones and harmonize,
After twenty-eight takes of heartbreak,
   it seems the microphone’s telling lies;
Elizabeth kneels at her bedside thumbing
   through a bible for a passage on fat,
The voices above could be angels,
   though the tenor’s a teensy bit flat.

Just another day
   at 99 Liberty Lane
      (It’s always the same)
Just another day
   at 99 Liberty Lane

Rico’s drunk and shouts in the phone,
   “It’s been an hour and still no pie!”
His father begs and pleads,
   then falls to his knees, as
      the Jets crash land on the thirty five;
Three up two over Ms. Marvetta cheers,
   it seems the Steelers can do no wrong,
While in the bedroom, her son
   shows his twin baby sisters
      the purpose of his mother’s bong;
The dog days bit September,
   Monday night sweats like noon,
Humidity stuck just south of underwater,
   the sunshine fled from
      the heat to the moon;
A keyboard player hauls her axe up the stairs,
   cuz the elevator’s stuck up above,
She hails from Alabama,
   she’s at home in the heat, but she’s
      a stranger to the panic of love,
Here’s what she’s thinking of…

Louise tries to squeeze her husband’s hand,
   as the bedroom light falls down,
The clock strikes eleven,
   and her daughter cries,
      but doesn’t make a sound,
Last thing she feels is her husband’s smile,
   the scent of coriander and dreams,
What’s there to do once 3 now 2?
   The apartment house explodes with a scream:
Marvetta cries out at her children,
   Rico slams down the phone,
Take 30 dies when ‘Bama comes knockin’,
   Sheri bites her lip and groans,
The elevator wheezes back to life,
   though the pizza man’s pie’s half gone,
The doorman turns off his TV,
   he suddenly feels alone...

Just another day
   (another piper to pay)
      at 99 Liberty Lane
         (It's always the same)
Just another day
   At 99 Liberty Lane
      (You’re welcome to stay)
Just another day
   (another day)
      at 99 Liberty Lane.


© 2008 Billie Burke Estate