The rain fell in grey strings
Latching onto the pavement
Drilling crust to orange core
The thorny straws of alien mosquitoes
Sucked up colour & light
Draining the day to the marrow of night.
The wet worms on the sidewalk
Tensed against the ever growing wind
Turned collars and backs against heaven
I stood, bore witness and did nothing.
Planes pushed the bags of water
That were bursting on my head
Planes filled with balloons of blood
Aboard, my eyesight does not allow me
To bear witness to any bursting.
A figure knelt by the drain
A shadow with two coins for eyes
Bailing out the water with a black bag,
I fumble in my pocket for a silver disk,
I fumble and find my pocket empty.
Soaked paper ships skidded down the road
The towers held us in the V of the valley
And the flats held out as ossified giants
They stood as me,
Stood, bearing witness, doing nothing.
