When the streets go dark
And the lines go down
Every choice comes
Racing back
Flooding the mind
With harsh judgments of
Prior judgments
Kicking oneself for
Not making better
More solid
Less shortsighted
Decisions
The trumpet in the skull plays
Brass tack blues
But there’s no time for tears
For the Angel still stoops low,
Her finger touches the surface of the sea
The waters rise and boil
And scarlet and ash cover the sky
Speech is all garbled,
Unintelligible noise
And the tower falls
Prayers simplify,
Becoming bread,
Water, candles
A second set of
Eyes and hands,
More bullets
The stranger outside
Does not look
Friendly
And yet, he is
Less dangerous
Than the one
Who does

©2026 Kevin Trent Boswell
