north side's white, south side's black

rich man's mansion, black man's shack

 

miracle mile, squeaky clean

south state street, filthy mean

 

one drinks martinis, the other jack

south grant park, better watch your back

 

Four Seasons, Everest, Barneys New York

kids in the projects eat shit with a fork

 

Wilmette beaches, the Bahai dome 

Dan Ryan skyline, Robert Taylor home

 

squirt guns and swings, Glencoe park

snipers in Cabrini, death after dark

 

Astor and Goethe, nothing they lack

Sixty-third and King Drive, lookin’ for crack

 

Treasure Island, Starbucks, designer food

Popeyes, Colt forty-five, altered mood

 

traders and bankers, Bulls front row

black fan, big ticket, not enough dough

 

hey beer man, Bud man, pass me a Lite

Air Jordan, SRO, nothing but white

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North Shore hospital, Blue Cross, top drawer

Cook County, green card die on the floor

 

coddled, lamaze, and prenatal care

a fetus in the toilet, ain’t no fanfare

 

see one do one, work out the rust

poor man, dark man, guinea pigs "R" us

 

surgeon in training, indigents are meat

save a few, lose a few, pull up the sheet

 

slain little blond girl ten years of age

Kenilworth stabbing on the front page

 

gang bang black kid, bullet through his head

no news is good news, another black dead

 

city's Gold Coast, the land of plenty

southside, west side, pockets are empty

 

black man, white court, guilty as sin

same crime, white man, different spin

 

private school, skip a grade, college bound

no grade, drop out, lost and found

 

rake in the cash, get to the top

clean up the trash, push the mop

 

white kid blossoms the black kid rots

light years between the haves and have nots

 

to have is too far, to want is too near

nothing but white, nothing to fear

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Copyright © 2022 Richard Karrel

All rights reserved.

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