Until I met a slumlord

I only knew it was bad

But no meat to the bones

No real real knowing

No knowledge of roaches

And no understanding

Of a house full of nothing working

And the scheme

And the blacklisting

And the hopeless cycle

And generational trap

I met one. A true evil.

What a vile person

With employees and tenants

Who are stuck

Like prisoners of war

Loyalists from the old regime

What bravery

To stand up to the slumlord

As little bitty kids

I had no idea