Of Birds and Lonely Men

Drab pigeons in flight, skimming over the streets Swift, restless movement, but going nowhere Cleaving curved wings in the hot and stagnant air While no one takes notice of a gray day's defeat They circle and settle, no rhyme or a plan They perch, then depart, feathered gypsies who roam Chasing the shadows, surveying the land They scavenge the streets, for a place to call home Summer that coils between cracks in the concrete Liquefied smog brews far deep in the bone Pigeons fly low, testing virtues of streets Assemble in flocks, yet must forage alone Searching at feet of the crowds who walk by Waiting for nothing, just a crumb from the sky ….. Drab men walking circles, slouched over with scars Their only companions are ghosts of defeat With no place to go, except under the stars They huddle in corners, as the bitter night peaks People and traffic are pounding the beat No one gives notice, while they travel not far Down sidewalks, and litter, in the noise of the street Like pigeons in circles, where home is the dark Summer that coils between cracks in the concrete Liquefied smog brewing deep in the bone And gray absent eyes, testing virtues of streets Just litter on sidewalk, where cruel winds have blown Searching at feet of the crowds who walk by Waiting for nothing, just a crumb from the sky ………………………………………………………………