He rises from the dust
Like mist
oozing between the cracks in the cobblestones
luminous wraith
silver, shimmering light
Like rain and moonbeams on silken threads
Refracting the sun
Reforming
He glides
over puddles and gutter water, spilled beer
Draped in spider’s webs
A beggar’s cloak,
chain-wrapped boots jingle-jangle in the night
Echo off pavement
Drifting on ice and wind
Taking shape, old colors
Twilight
Blue-black perfection of ankle length hair
marred by swirling colors
A kaleidoscope of neon lights
As he sways on music coaxed from a saxophone
Gentle blues in a harsh city night
He wanders, a ghostly silhouette
In a smoky room
Anchored to stone and soil
Treacherous flesh rotting beneath worm filled mud
Wriggling in the thralls of decomposition
Yet he is here, dancing in the strobe lights
On a night without stars
“A Night without Stars” was printed in Crossroads, No. 8 of Inwood Indiana. Pick up the paperback from Prolific Press; the stories and poems published online are free to read here.
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