I am the dark and ominous tower
your greenless, infertile backyard
the unsightly vista that you view
each morning, from your high rise
curtainless, kitchenette windows.

there are no blond or red hair damsels
screaming from my broken windows,
there are no pretty freckled-face kings
sun tanning on my front lawn.

when you see me, you think SELL IT!
when you hear my name, your heart quivers,
SELL IT!

to some, I am an off the path tourist attraction
a must see, real Chicagoan jewel
I've even heard that in certain circles
wayward junkies have found my dusky den a haven
away from their sleepy side street mirages
but to you, I am the experiment that failed
the perfect excuse for you to chase away
the last store front, the last factory
the last father out of their natural setting
as you go on tearing and destroying and replacing
with plastic villa domes and soul-less restaurants
your version of a safe yuppie, buppie ghetto.

I see your invisible for sale signs
disguised as police protection
rehabilitation, an economical migration
of pseudo liberal conquest of elimination
without assimilation.

CABRINI GREEN PROJECTS BOMBED AND SOLD
BY THE CITY OF CHICAGO: LOOK FOR MCDOME
SUPER COMPLEX COMING SOON.

-Marvin Tate