The Shadows Fall
ambiguity
my frustration
knowing that i know not
my greatest trepidation
a man in a white shirt
walks past me on the bridge
soon after, a bicyclist
rides on by
all the while
the rush of cars
zooming by, not seeing me
the world in motion
then a little while later
a couple hand in hand in the distance
yet by the time they pass me
they walk apart, hands alone
the shadows fall
the sky breaks
light falls out
and pours onto the pavement
a little boy runs after his mother
she is wearing a pink dress
a jogger passes me just then
i can still hear his music
the truth begins to spin
reality engages in subterfuge
the shadows fall
the sky breaks
a police car drives by
i eye the graffiti on the road
the waves below the bridge
make their way oceanbound
the shadows fall
the sky breaks
the light falls out
and pours onto the pavement
i look up and i see not far off
the dome of my current home
the tree-lined grass
the court of commencement
i turn around a moment
paused in the flow of life
as people, cars, bicycles
all rush around me in haste
beyond the bridge
across the river
there stand towers proud
corporations gave them their names
not unlike the towers that crumbled
it could have been here, i think
i look down at the bridge
a flag, a memory, a date
graffiti against a war
graffiti for a war
graffiti espousing anger
graffiti measuring some units and an ear
what will remain after fifty years?
what will remain after five years?
what will remain after five minutes?
what will remain after fifty seconds?
time fleeting
rushing onward,
the waves press for the ocean
to reach the free-flowing seas
to run unconstrained
to be freed of the riverbanks
to be part of the great salty expanse
to cover seventy percent of the globe
i stop on the bridge
my feet grow still
i turn sideways, and look at the river
a dead color, yet in motion
the sky is clouded now
the sun has gone into hiding
humidity is in the air
i can cut it with a knife
except i carry not a weapon
i run my hand through my hair
i feel the moisture of the air
i look at the clouds, hiding the sun
for just a moment
i see the sun peek out
as if to say hello
before disappearing once again
the heat begins to press down
i feel i ought continue my journey
i gather my strength
and i take yet another step
the shadows fall
the sky breaks
the light falls down
and pours onto the pavement
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