streets filled with emptyness
echo absent footfall
beneath yelling birdsearch dismal
cry for yesterday\'s stolen meal
lonesome benches bathe beneath
magnolia\'s blossom blanket
nurturing hope of congregation
for lunchtime\'s sandwich pause
. traffic lights ever change and dream
. of rush hour chaos covered tarmac
. where yellow lines now silently mock
. each vacant seat of a solitary passing bus
occasional pale peering indoor faces
grace windows of fearful longing
surviving behind well bolted thresholds
auditioning death toll\'s daily feed