walking

A cool blue breeze whistles around my body and I feel as though I am naked on this stretch of water and chaos.  I kick a Pepsi can with my foot and focus on the blood running through my body, boiling as if ignited by the elements that bless me.

Earth hidden by cement and grass and garbage still smiles under my feet.

Reluctant fire burns in the windows of every house that I pass.

My nostrils flare, my skirt is lifted by the spirits of the wind.

Water is everywhere

I wander further, follow the voices.  Three boys with toy guns burst out of a house, shirtless and laughing.  Their skin shines against the peeling paint and I laugh too.  What is behind them, it seems, is emptiness, and they are stepping into life, like babies born on a cool Spring day.

An old man crosses the street while cars wait impatiently, devious machines hiding their master’s soul in the glove compartment.  I am happy to be walking.