I am a Hampdenite,
which is not a religion
unless you consider
John Waters a spiritual leader
as he has anointed
this sparkly neighborhood
of Charm City Baltimore
with many a blessing  

This wonderland
of glitter, feather boas and
a dare to be different
joie de vivre
seduces others from afar
to promenade
treasure hunt
and prize
what is old
as new  

Yet in its beginning
The neighborhood
coalesced
around the
working class family
housing those
who labored
in the Mills
with purpose and skills
muscle and sweat
know-how and will
backs bent, hours long
Perhaps a nightly brew
this much I knew  

Then I became lost
in my gaze
upon seeing some
early phaze
of Hampden
when I saw the time
before there were sidewalks  

In Photographs
I saw rivers of mud
underfoot
flowing through
my neighborhood
There were
long lost residents
navigating
with the dried mud
caked on their legs
wearing the land
as garments,
as evidence
of ownership
of place.  

Before there were sidewalks
those nameless pictured people
were the living roots
of community,
once revered,
with all knowing
each other’s names  

I gazed
upon these early
inhabitants,
as though I could see
the faces of gods and goddesses
of those mythic beginnings
born during the
Days of Mud
they knew the trudge
and the tricks of travel
choosing to stay
while becoming
the
First Families of Hampden,
Before there were sidewalks