Wilmington: a Portrait

during the first snow of winterfebruary 2, 2019

1.

you forgot that snowcan enshroud a city. this citywith its one plowsalted the streetsand sidewalks white beforea flake had fell or a cloud formed—

the threat of snow daunting enough.

you’ve never been to a cityquite like this; the summersblister saturated with dampheat and the winter windsbluster. the little in betweenis brief and ill defined.

there is no snow.

2.

prototypical city features:wilmington, de.

stretching toward new englandbut never quite being able to reachphiladelphia or the northeasternwoods of vermont or connecticut ormidatlantic baltimore or historical d.c..

dela-where?   is often heard from neighboringstates. delaware is a sliver to get caughtunder your skin. Whose citiesare shadowed by the surrounding statesand could easily be swallowedup by the atlantic.

wilmington: pumped and inflatedwith out-of-state money.out-of-state interest, out-of-statecorporations.

3.

rusted water tower, a centennial overmarket street’s new restaurantsand white lights on the trees, newapartments slapped together overnightfor the middle-class apparition.

downtown businessmen who camein to work on nothingbut their own gain, building

half made skyscrapershalf promises halfthe healthcare halfthe rights guaranteedby an amorphous entitysaturated in green paper.

the surrounding area ruthlesslyleft with nothing exceptyoung’s, the chinese bodega

and cracked, busted, collapsedrowhouses—cuddled up,heating each other—a community seepedin self-loathing and love.stuck in a city constructedto keep glued.

lost in the mazewith one narrowexitand few rewardsalong the way

before realizing

this placeconsumes those who stay.