Just Another City Street

The rain has finally stopped. The sun shines through my bedroom window. A car drives by with the radio booming.

I step outside. I have to squint. The sun sparkles off a car with a yellow boot on one tire and soggy parking tickets on the windshield.

That’s Mr. Perkins’ car. He lost his job and can’t afford to drive anymore.

I walk past the corner store. A man sits on the ground. He says he’s hungry and he asks me for money.

“I don’t have any,” I say and I keep going.

When I get to my friend Ray’s place, his Mama is upset. Somebody sprayed graffiti on the wall of their house.

Ray’s Mama says he can’t play. “Our street is not safe,” she says.