exodus

the city split open like a cracked tooth

rain slashing down in sheets

a cloudburst thick as fever

choking the neon in a dying pulse

 

headlights flared like warning shots

an electric storm swallowing its own light

 

they were running

out of doorways, alleyways

out of bars that smelled of piss and loneliness

past cars locked in traffic jams

past stores with empty shelves

 

someone pounded on a taxi window

pleading to be let in

the driver stared straight ahead

fingers tight on the wheel

 

somewhere, a siren cried a warning

but still they ran

with nowhere left to go

 

Done