thomas paine on the jack of spades

i am too big to fail
the cops are babies
in the rain
cried out
posters ripped
off telephone poles
on the way to cvs
or acme or rita’s—
you had your whiz
now get your
water ice

the new york shuffle
will always be older
than new york
an unmarked club
is throwing a boss
out the window
like a party
their yankees
a graveyard
cut from a stem

neighbors complain
of hands
there’s nobody
to clock
til jack makes jokes
about vietnam
is he allowed
is he the boss
of vietnam
who be my own boss
who be my own police

who spraypaints a middle
finger on the wall
and who smooths it
roughly into a peace
sign before the giant
frank rizzo mural
is repainted over it
by a giant club
of jackass