Stroppy Urchins

by KJ Hannah Greenberg

Stroppy Urchins, all twee among tourists, call out for clothes,
Pave self-promotion in alleys, on streets, steady among boulevards.
Etiolate brats, accustoms to sweat shops, they beg bread, pester gypsies,
Commonly sift among urban cruft for invisible diamonds, rubies, emeralds.

Such social tetany brings bolshy, sometimes exasperatingly belligerent, faculatives,
Strolls wee persons ‘round would-be bourgeoisie, nabs purses, filtches pocket change.
Almost never, however, does it stoop to slit a throat; safer robbery will do.
Plus, obstreperous coppers are known to find pleasure in jailing hoodlums.

Now and then, brogues rest. When bounty’s beyond reason, including: plimsolls,
Chatelaines for opening post boxes, rusted lugers, tame budgies,
As well as coins faced with etchings of ancient krakens, life’s good.
Yet even those catches get revealed as more superficial glitz than social currency.