Philadelphia

I arrived in Philadelphia on the same day as the tail of the hurricane. At 6AM, the city looked old, gray, windy and soaking wet.
We didn't have a car, so we took the subway and walked and walked. It was a fallen capital although through details here and there you could almost see the glims of the glory days it once had. I wasn't interested in American history or the big bell with a crack. I hate sightseeing. I knew it was the birth place of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which claimed that everyone was equal except women and slaves. That was enough information for me. I am more interested in people, ordinary people's everyday life. I admit I experienced some kind of culture shock while walking through the streets of Philadelphia. Like the first time in Vancouver I was shocked to see so many Chinese outside of China. Here I was bit shocked to see almost half of the population (43.2%) was black in Philly. I was even more shocked to see most of them live around or below the poverty line. I remember one article in New Yorker talking about the aftermath in New Orleans. It said something like flood was act of God, but doing a bad job building levees and destroying homes and letting people die or suffer because they are poor is not. I am from a country where hardship is daily life to millions of people. It is still shocking to see on TV and with my own eyes that there is a third world living right in the heart of the richest country in the world. Having poor people is not disturbing. Having most of the poors from one single race is disturbing. I don't understand that how a country with its backyard on fire can possibly throw billions of dollars in order to police the world. I am not sure if Canadian know how lucky it is to live in Canada. I know I do because the moment I stepped back on Canadian soil I started to breathe easier.

ps. I know this is the song originally for people with AIDS , but it could also be dedicated for all the people who are abandoned and forgotten...

Streets of Philadelphia

I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
Saw my reflection in a window I didn't know
my own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me
wasting away
On the streets of Philadelphia

I walked the avenue till my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Just as black and whispering as the rain
On the streets of Philadelphia

Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I my friend
And my clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
just to slip this skin

The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia