Pbpa1

In the future We won’t speak at all This will not be permitted Under law Scenes now show Collars pulled up Heads leant into the wall No eye contact at all Those still with homes Don’t go out at all The throng of the dispossessed Keep a steady pace No expression On their face As they trudge past Those stood by the wall No one will speak at all Then, there will be a moment A random head will lift From one side of the street And meet another’s gaze Journeying the other way And in that moment Each will say If only in their own minds To avoid doing time Oh look there goes A human being Right there across the street Still with something left, Although weak Remember when we used to meet Human beings Share and speak - oh what a treat! With thoughts now separate As they each think of those They used to greet.... But the pain of memories past For one Will be too much They drop their gaze And withdraw Bury what they once were Right down to their core, Rejoin the trudge And the moment is lost.... Anna Archichek