It had been a bad day whatever that means
to you but now the sky was opening up
and behind the clouds was a sudden flash
of brilliance that held its place above the horizon
for those last few moments leading up
to sunset it was almost enough to make you
believe that life was still worth living we
walked down a city block where artists had
claimed the open brick walls as canvases
and the brightness of their paint was reflected
from the puddles left by the earlier rain we
passed the stores that sold all kinds of craftwork
from ceramics to basketry feeling suddenly
insecure among these tempting feelers for
gentrification here among the ruins of
the invisible lives those that flower briefly
in their youth before rapidly declining under
the double load of poverty and work but don’t
presume that they ever lose the capacity for desire
or wonder or the mystical urgency of love.
Poet and songwriter Paul Ilechko lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. He is the author of several chapbooks. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including The Night Heron Barks, Feral Journal, Iron Horse Literary Review, Gargoyle Magazine, and Book of Matches. His first album, Meeting Points, was released in 2021.