I was a hack in the class Armed with a broken pen in my hand I was a poet of trash Recycled lines like bottles and cans Now those lonely streets Are littered with pieces of me My city is rising Out of the night The lights are aligning My city is rising Just the sound of the wind There's no going back The shadows are dead We all fade to black Left my heart on the rail Because it's all that I had Lake Street Bridge Dark blue midnight Loved this breath with all of my life The river blooms Black ink flows in reverse Swallowed the best and the worst of my words All these sounds Hum and buzz and drone in me now I was a hack in the class Broken pen in my hand I was a poet of trash Pinned my heart to my sleeve Because it's all that I had.