That doesn't make it
There is some stupid sign
Some fading request
For someone to rent
Or buy
A work/live loft
As if there were some view
Of Freeport, NY
Or downtown Detroit
Worthy of such commanding windows
And high ceilings
There are dreams
And there are dreams
I guess the thought is
Might as well
Since there stands a monument
To someone else's vision
That this would be a necessary structure
A lucrative venture
As no one I've ever known
Has ever built a building out of boredom
Although it does seem like that sometimes
(In the middle of Park Slope on 4th Ave.)
A wise man once explained
If you can use it, it's a craft
If it has no function, it's art
These buildings were definitely crafted
I always imagine two chairs
One you can sit in
One will completely collapse
Under the slightest bit of weight
That's art
Every town worth a damn
Has other towns around it
That have tried to capitalize
On the boom
The rush
The flood
Hoboken was revitalized
Now, Jersey City
Smaller areas
Little splinter clouds
Like Little Five Points in Atlanta
Berkeley in California
And the Short North in Columbus
All feel the pulse
Often a wee bit hipper
Than its bordering big brother
That's because artists and homosexuals
Are the hunting dogs of real estate
Artists collaborate
Make things funky
Make something
Out of nothing
And homosexuals make everything prettier
More appealing to the eye
And the club music always follows
Then it's a nice place to raise kids
For young edgy couples
In come the stroller people
Up go the prices
And of course it seems like a miracle
They call it a revitalization
The pied pipers always trickle off
To produce another great neighborhood
And it's always as if the decorators
Make it in before the real estate tycoons
Funny how that works
These things are patterns
Like ant hills
On a great lawn
Only no one seems to be able
To convince the artists and homosexuals
Where to go next
So the pattern is
Still a giant math problem
In the hands of
Some MIT grad
With a giant calculator
Big open spaces
Just off the beaten path
Cheap rents
And a park
There is a sign out front
That reads
For Sale or Rent
Work/Live Lofts
(artists and homosexuals only)
That's my place
--
4.21.08
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