Empty Streets

Bad Dream Part 2

by Masha Danevasha

Wind blowing papers through empty grey streets
Cement maw of an alley is gaped in a shout
Broken glass and spent bullets crunch under my feet
Every cell of the body is screaming – get out

YOU! the reason I find myself in this zone
Abandoned amidst the decrepit concrete,
Used up and subverted – YOU left me, alone
Shrinking from shadows that lurk in the streets

Let me break out from this desolate town
From the cold blind stares of its windows and roofs
I run through the streets and clutch in my hand
A daring prize – that which means most to you.

Its shape is unclear, its purpose is flawed
Its value is measured with memories and sighs
Yet one thing is certain – you’ll grieve for its loss
Like I grieved once, when you said goodbye

A ghost on the corner breathes out “It’s not yours”
Still I gather the courage and hasten my step
“I have taken what’s due, and if he wants it back
He can find me and face me – and take it himself”

Escape is somewhere in the tangle of rails
Amid tentacles running in every which way
Salvation is close, I may even get out
at last… if I find the one outbound train.