The Barth Street boys
made their mark:

First glue sniffers
in Wealthy Heights

First spray paint
graffiti artists

First to sign their work
“Barth Street Brothers”

Where are they now, these
seven nameless neighbors?

Two went down in Vietnam –
left signatures in blood
Let us call them soldiers who
died in vain in a war insane

Two dead in gangland –
drug deal gone bad
Now remembered by
two white crosses
Mothers bear
their tragic losses

One played minor league ball
then bought a laundromat in
the city’s core
Served people well until
he died of kidney failure

The other two drifted away –
alone and since forgotten
No markers or flowers for them
faded and never forgiven

Who were their heroes?
It is wondered now
What happened Joe DiMaggio?
you only inspired one
Martin Luther King, dear man
Couldn’t they hear your voice’s ring?
Prophets and pickers
Preachers and poets
In their fields they were the cream
Message and influence meant
nothing at all – even the rappers
could not make them dream

Barth Street today –
Hardly the same
Trash and old tires removed
there we see gardens and swings
Houses scraped and painted
broken windows repaired
New sidewalks and gutters –
no violence or clutter

There has been renewal
the neighborhood has a glow
People are proud again
care and love emerge from
the hearts and souls
It goes deeper than the surface –
maybe in a larger sense
the brothers served their purpose
You wonder –
where and how they might
sign their names

Steve Haarman
October 5, 2014 ^