Echoes from the Street

By Al Ferber

The streets do not prettify, they test. Growing up in the streets of Philadelphia, Al Ferber learned theres nothing so valuable as a fast punchHes a street kid all the way, and his writing style bears that out.
The words jab and dance.
Ignore the chidings of any coach.
More often than not, Al will swagger into the ring. You know he hears the
ding ding ding of the bell as his poems come out swinging
and you will always be entertained.
Karen Dabkowski, Editor, Blue House Magazine

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462844630

Al Ferber

Al Ferber a septuagenerian going on 13. Born. Regrettably… A North Philly kid. Survived education at Temple U., Penn State, Villanova U. Alcoholic 30 years. Sober 23 years. Indenture servant to Catherine the Great 34 years. Learned to love and appreciate cats and one dog. Authored 30 books of poems, 2 novels, 3 chap books. Poems in Magazines in U.S., England, Scotland, France. Still alive, on the downward path of the sliding board, as of this writing. An undocumented alien in the world. Resides Ocean City, NJ surrounded by water with Cathi, Luna, Mitzi, and Opal. So there.

Book preview

Copyright © 2009 by Al Ferber.

Cover art: acrylic on canvas by Al Ferber

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Once again, most of the poems contained in this volume have appeared or are scheduled for future publication in Blue House a poetry e-zine of the 1st order.

The editor of that magazine, those poems, and this book: Karen Dabkowski a consummate poet if there ever was one.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

63453

Contents

ECHOES FROM THE STREET

ELECTRICITY

NEVER FORGET

INTOLERANCE

HUCKLE BUCK

DON’T TAILGATE

ADRIFT

SITTING SHIVA

LOOKED FOR

SIGN LANGUAGE

THE HORSES THEY GO

SAND CASTLE

CON GAME

I DON’T NEED

PEDESTRIAN

FOR MICHAEL MONTANYA

PERCEPTION

ALOP

STILL LIFE

GETTING FROGGY

APPEALS COURT

THE LINE

WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME

BEFORE THE APPLE

BLUE

BRINGING IN THE NEW

ANOTHER THURSDAY

TRANSFORMATION

PENANCE

BO PEEP

FORCED MARCH

GOOD NEWS

SHORE LEAVE

THE GOBLINS ARE REAL

MAD MOUNTAIN

QUIET ON THE FRONT

SPLIT DECISION

EVER THINK

DEGREES OF SEPARATION

UP AGAINST THE WALL

PUNCTUALITY

COLUMNS

EUPHORIA

TOO LOUD A VOICE

FOOLS GOLD

HARPIES

TOTEMS

EXTENSION COURSE

IS ARE WAS WILL BE

THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT

DISCOUNT LOVE

ELEC-TRONIC

SEARCHIN’

CONSTELLATION

SQUIRMIN HERMAN

ENDEAVOR

FOLLOW THE

BOUNCING BALL

FUNNEL VISION

THE POEM FROM YESTERDAY AT THE BEACH

PROBLEM SOLVER

SERENITY

ALEXANDRA

SHIT IN A HANDBAG

NOODLE HEAD

WIND DRIFT

DOORS

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

BOOKENDS

INTERMEZZO

BERTHA

NEVER FORGET

LATE BREAKING NEWS

ICING ON THE CAKE

THE MUSIC THAT SHE DOES NOT HEAR

EITHER OR

PINBALL WIZARD

YOUR DEATH OR MINE

WACHA

PAINT THINNER

CHANCES

APPLE JACK

THE STREETS

WHIPPED DOG

GUMBO

MUNGO JERRY

NAILS

ELONGATED

TRUE FINE MAMA

SPLASH

HYP-NO-TIZED

DECISION REACHED

WANNA FIGHT

PROJECTILE

NORTH FORTY

THE ROAD

TASTE FOR IT

ON THE VERGE

INTO THE ILLUSION

A DIFFERENT ANGLE

HUBBLE

FOR JOSEPH CAMPBELL

BLOWING BUBBLES

THE BELL CLANG

ECCENTRIC ARTIST

SET UP

OFF

THIN ICE

IN THE REALM OF THE IMPROBABLE

ACROSS THE BOARD

THE SMELL OF STRAW AND ELEPHANT SHIT

ROUGH EDGES

SCHOOL DAZE

GREASED LIGHTNING

ECHOES FROM THE STREET

This book is dedicated all those whose life

and memory I hold dearly close to me.

ECHOES FROM THE STREET

The echoes

from days

and years

and decades

half centuries ago

don’t

never

stop

but baffle

and wail

off the walls

the doors

and windows

of houses

and long

departed souls

the voices

scenes

and stories

of carefully

selected

histories

that pull

on tear ducts

tug on

heart strings

plunge

ache

into the soul

of tender

blissful

violent

rage fueled

brutal

moments

in time

that shaped

and branded

my soul

indelibly

for all eternity

ELECTRICITY

The painful current

runs through my veins

gives me