Shelving the Big Apple

(Death on 5^th Avenue)

Life in the city
A status valued asset -
Gained or lost in an executive bet.
 
On this island there was room for just so many
So they put in rows of shelves,
Now there’s room aplenty.
 
Live in a shelf, work in a shelf,
And maybe someday 
buy a shelf for yourself.
 
Well today I saw a man die,
His blood ran from mouth and eye.
 
Where was he yesterday?
         What made him come here?
Where are the people that he held dear?
 
When his last moments left him he was all alone –
        While a make believe medic called it in on the phone.
 
There I stood, 
just across the street,
          As the jazz player behind me began to tap his feet.
Then in a rush I was he,
          And my death made no news.
The cop moved the crowd and the Jazzman played the blues.
The bad apple on a stretcher – remove the old and keep the new.
Just for one moment I saw death on Fifth Avenue.