I saw a heart shaped oil stain last nightnWhile walking home on Pike and BroadwaynLike a loving queen perchednOn her asphalt throne.nnShe ruled the corner firmlynLike a mother to her child,nLike a lover to a daydreamnOr as magic tricks will rule a smile.nnShe hid beneath a taxi as hernNeighbors screamed and fought.nThe Shell station was her kingdom.nHer castle was the parking lot.nnShe wondered if one daynShe’d find a king to keep the drunks at bay,nA gentle oil puddlenThat would never wash away.nnShe was born from an old enginenThat had never really been maintained,nA broken home beneath a hoodnThat leaked each time it rained.nnShe hadn’t met her parents,nBut she heard that they residednAn a sidewalk by a TexaconOn eastern Staten Island.nnThey never lived to learnnThat their daughter had become royalty.nA hard working employeenScrubbed their bodies to the street.