Survival

What you need here to walk the street's an air of defiance. Learned that trick early on. A sideways bounce in your step says you might go off. Never be still. Shudder your shoulder, shift your weight, stomp out a cigarette, light another. No need to swagger but master a prideful disdain. Not a grimace or sneer. It's the whole package. Float a half inch above the sidewalk in a bubble. Draw a line that if crossed, things stop, temperature drops. They'll withdraw soon enough. You'll get by.