Philly boy, whadda ya’ doin’?1
Dese mugliones ya’ been screwin’2
Gonna’ get you put down3
If dey hear ‘bout it uptown.4
Dey made ya’, turned you loose.5
You shoulda’ jus’ collected da’ juice6
On da westside loans dat was made7
You keep ‘em in line, keep 'em afraid.8
You head, it ain’t on straight,9
You gonna wind up dead freight.10
Bleedin’, dyin’ in gahbage in some alley11
Dropped by a crooked cop name a’ O’Malley.12
You been drinkin’ wit’ scum bags13
Cozzyin' up to punks pushin’ scag.14
Some wiseguy gets pissed, drops a dime,15
Ya’ wind up in hole cover'd in quick lime.16
Big Tuna tryin’ ta protect da’ family.17
Momo’s pushin’ drugs an’ he18
Crossed a way ova’ da line.19
Ain’t gonna work out for Momo dis time.20
Din’ have no trouble when we was local loan sharks.21
Now we got phone taps, hip deep in Feds ‘n’ narcs.22
Big Tuna says ‘sweepa da streets’23
Lose da junkies, lose da heat.’24
Philly boy, get down onna’ you knees.25
Ain’t gonna help you axin’ me please.26
Ya’ brought trouble cross da’ border27
I’m a soldier inna family wit’ a order.28
Philly boy, whadda ya’ do?29
Dis time it’s a too late fa’ you.30
Silenced barrel to the backa da head spits31
Gotta ditch da’ gun ‘a my twenty first hit.32
Author notes
The 'Big Tuna', Tony Accardo knew if judges kids got on the needle, the judges would start going after crime families. Sam "Momo" Giancano brought them in anyway and the body count climbed.
A contest entry
- Your Best Poetry. by tsh369.
175 points, ended November 5, 34 entries
Honorable mention
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Too colloquial?
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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Hey seamus,
Just finished reading about these guys. A book called 'The Tangled Web' about a Chicago cop and mafia hit man named Richard Cain, a fellow of Irish/Italian extraction. Accardo and Sam Giancana were mentioned in it. They were also mentioned in another book I read called 'I Heard You Paint Houses' about the untimely demise of Jimmy Hoffa, at the hands of one Frank 'The Irishman' Sheeran. So I'm not stretching too far casting an Irishman as a bad guy. Very good write and thoroughly enjoyable
Steve
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I liked this. It took a moment to get into but it is different and I liked it. Sorry that's all I can say.
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Not at all. I like the Sopranos--the tv version of it anyway. That Tony is an alpha male alright, his wif I find too whiney, always cryin' about sometin'.
I like your poem, good luck in the contest.
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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Uhm, yes just a little bit too colloquial. I mean, I guess from the context of the poem it's ok to be colloquial, but it made it a little confusing to understand at times. However I liked the last two lines of the final stanza, and there was a good rhythm to this as well. The storyline is a bit vague in the piece though and that with the colloquialism made it seem obscure at times. Your author's notes cleared a lot of things up though, so that was ok. I think I would've liked this better as a story...
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Silence of the Sopranos
On your profile you said you liked accents. This is how Mafioso sounded to me when I was a kid growing up on the westside of Chicago. I used to go to school with several guys whose father's had ties to the mob. One Mike Corbin (Corbini) had his father shot to death on the stairs of a motel. The mafia were the movements in the dark you "could've swore you saw." Thanks again for the suggestion to turn it into a story. -
Silence of the Sopranos
First, thanks for the read. Excellent idea on recasting as a story. I served as an altar boy at his daughter's wedding many years ago. There are rain forests that don't have as many flowers as were on the altar that day. The scene in The Untouchables where DeNiro takes a baseball bat to a guy is reputedly based on his actions. An early nickname was Joey Bats. I've always been fascinated by the man. He was smart enough to fly under the radar of the cops and Federal prosecutors. He would walk around the neighborhood with a couple of lieutenants but a car in front and behind would always block the street until they got a good look at whoever was in the car before letting it pass. Another of my stories is Devil's In The Details. It's about a low level collector who paid the ultimate price for skimming.
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