Pizza pilgrims progress

A pizza Pilgrims progress 

Lo johns pizza 

Bleeker street

East village

New York City 

Holy shrine

Of pizza pies

From brick ovens shimmering

Crisp the sacred crust

Oh heaven on earth!

Is it the water?

Is it the tomatoey sweet sharp tang?

Cheese skimmed melty?

The seance in old long time

Greenwich village occupation?

The scratched scarred walls?

Generations of scrawled initials

Names dates years

Scratches on scratches

Story layers

Time travel

And time arrested

While all around Bleeker

The yogurt shops

And skinny model clothes shops

Shopping center for the few

Who can

Gucci

Gucci

Gucci

Jimmy Choo's

Live their priceless

Privilege

Lo

Johns

Pizza

Circ 1950s

I look up

At the neon sign

Glowing bright 

Look through the window

To outside

Through fluorescent 

Red letters

Caught suspect 

Spelling itself backwards

But shinning on.