Medellin 7.1

I know my neighborhood for a couple of blocks

the tienda and BBQ joint down the street,

hippie coffee house/hostel in the other direction,

barber shop, a couple of markets, I can live here...

(still seems a miracle I'm anywhere at all)....

...not everyone says "Buenas dias!" the way they

did in Tepoztlan...city's too big...but still, here,

one sees people walking, holding hands...

...the penthouse I live in we call: "Narco cheese"

...it was built when Escobar was in power, has

two wall safes, chrome accents falling off the walls,

a staircase reminiscent of a Spanish gallion, was

one of the tallest buildings of the time...

....the mark I make here will be faint compared to

Escobar, which is more of a magnificent scar.