Los Angeles Albert Wong Student Poet The traffic's still congested as the city lungs yearn to breathe
Oil and dirt stained sidewalks streetlight trees
The heart of the city never misses a beat
Even when people clog the arteries of the street
Vendors overdose on each other's addictions to survive
The day-to-day trials and tribulations of the mind
Each person barters their way closer to the mountain top
Leaving others in the dust as they reap cash green crops
While poverty is as tall as high-rise skyscrapers
And is scattered maliciously amongst the city like the toxic smog vapors
That blanket the city but hardly keep the homeless warm
Each and every day awaiting for the sun to rise to be born