it sounded more like a compliment
than an inquiry
i felt uneasy
no gangs? he asked
and i’m thinking
no, not really – are you joking?
and then i’m imagining menacing groups of teenage boys in do-rags
galloping
through the streets of
the gracefield subdivision
i tell him
no, not really, but of course they’re kind of everywhere
i’m trying to say that we’re all the same
and that nobody is really secure
and that
well, also, gangsters are just people
i mean, if they were around here
i wouldn’t be
uh, terrified, or anything
i drive through some pretty
rough neighborhoods
every day
hey – it may look like we’re doing well
but i’m not like the rest of these people
it’s just good luck at the moment
and it could change
i wonder where he lives
and what it’s like there
but i don’t ask
why
am
i
ashamed?