the river churns and churls, heavy and unbothered

muscling under broken bridges and iron skeletons

rusted names emerge between twilight fog and tossed furniture

stark black helvetica on construction orange screams: DO NOT ANCHOR

intense decay admits to nothing 

while arched amber dreams reveal everything

the live wire on the edge of sparking

the emergency in slow motion

a single beam pierces a boarded window

a fierce, quiet act of being

against the easy, predictable failings of men

a refusal to carry what doesn't belong to them

i look down

notice pink flowers pressed into asphalt

small, wilted, and gratuitous 

crushed alive in their delicacy