broken smile
by Jack Henry © 2008
i'm not there
walls crack
fold, fall
turn to dust
- railings of rebar
limp against remains
- outlines cast in chalk
vestiges of
bitter memory
broken smile
brittle love
i'm not there
words mean little,
my streets lay
empty,
abandoned by footsteps
- black crows
manage remains
of castoffs
hop-hop-hopping around
they eye me
with contempt
i'm not there
her pain ripples
across silver plates
bouncing wires
tremble with sweet disdain
i can hear her
but cannot hold her
she's over the miles
under a lightning sky
i'm not there
words of hope
melt
- colored crayons too
close to blue flames
built atop high pyres
of burning pasts
- i want to hold you
tell you your world
will right its axis
but i am too far away
although my heart
lingers near