Pavement

I watch the rain fall

onto dark, slanted streets,

unlike the days of old

with bright, sunny skies

and snow-glistened sidewalks.

I heard her scream last night.

Her cries echoed against the mighty cranes

that stood watch ere the moonlit sky.

Their eyes follow me

as I walk by, no cash in hand,

so I say,

but I don’t say.

I just keep walking,

hoping their image will go away

as I focus on my destination.

They are the writing on the walls,

paintings on the sidewalks,

seeping into the pavement cracks,

but they come to life when you look at them.

This is the place to be,

don’t you know?

They travel here to see the Great Lions,

but they are animals,

just like those

who have put them here.

The darkness looms over us

and traps us with its gnarled hands.

Somehow

the cold concrete soothes his face.

It is a place he calls home

for now.