Lucky Jim

In the collapse of the automotive industry
My [] lost a fortune. 
Many people do. 

The people move
The people-mover in the city 
Between blacks and whites 
In a vast wealth of violence
Detroit is a cold, charming city

Keep your distance, lock your car doors
Score well on standardized tests
No, it's not true that I ever threw anything off
apartment complexes in China
Except, if it were carefully stubbed out
Like a single, irregular cigarette
But, people near municipalities of ruins
Are careful like this, sometimes,
Small gestures of care to

Cement parking lots overgrown for miles
News reports of those who act like census workers
They tabulate the damage and levy a verdict
The socialist troupé mourns the rights of the workers
Calls for people to attend meetings
And, I wonder if Chongqing is Detroit, indeed
I cannot picture but this city is also
swimming in red flags, swimming in red leaves
Is there a music scene
Are the couples languid and attractive
Well, if it's like Detroit
And there is a new future
Then, only the grandmas will be left
to speak of the bygone days and foliage
Trolley cars and tambourines
Dead lovers, lost pensions

I am not an authority on the subject
But, beautiful cities, skyscrapers, ballrooms,
Public libraries, street lights
Just ignore this poem
It's not an epigram
It's periphrasis