The Aftermath

Look above the joyous crowd

Where their motley balloons mark the clouds

Suspended blooms of red, violet and cyan

Disband and deflate as swiftly as it began

A floating hallmark of festivity

Soon to be a passing memory

The lane ways close, the curtains drawn

The streets feel cold, the doldrums dawn

They proclaimed, throw love around like confetti

But why does it now feel so forsaken and empty?

A fleeting day of honour and shared unity

Now are we still visible within our community?

Back to the humdrum daily grind I’m yet to conquer

Oh, to dance in the sun just a moment longer

A dream of equity, no judgement and criticism

But now witnessing the weight of a colleague’s witticism

You had no interest embodying a poster child

I just want to free myself, you said as you smiled

Yearning for this experience to be every day

No more melancholia and monotonous grey

Relish being alone but can’t cope with goodbye

Will we see you next year when the parade draws nigh?