PURE COMMERCE
Between looming storefronts
imprisoning half light
plastered with shop signs
and peppered with awnings
tattered and flapping
as stale winds are blowing
the flaking paint falling
and cans roll and clatter
in debris-filled gutters
reflected in windows
cobwebbed and dirty
disguising the gloom
of the rooms hot and sweaty
where anonymous strangers
make deals with damp handshakes.
Michael Edwards © June 2018