the struggle

between the steak house
and the chinese restaurant
where the fumes of broiled
beef and fried rice fill
the air, there is a gym,
a workout center full of tread
mills and weights, you can see
the patrons soaked in their
own sweat, breathing
heavy. further down
the road, between the churches,
the synagogue is the strip
club where the lean and
curved women gyrate like snakes
on a vine for your dollars,
one at a time. around the block,
further up the street there
is a health store and a
jesus book store, next to
them and inbetween is the
porn shop with movies and
magazines, and the liquor
store with a shiny window
displaying vodka by the case.
above them, in a separate
space there is a yoga class,
i see the women, some men
going up the stairs carrying
their plastic mats and candles.
i sense a struggle going on.