The buildings were old and worn
The shutters hung delicately from the windows
like spider webs
“You’re ever after is all I’m after”
The words were painted in bright colors on the side of
an abandoned motel
A newspaper gets caught by the wind
and spirals upward into the air
as if on a string
A young couple strolls hand in hand down the street
fingers interlocking, stepping in stride,
in tune like instruments
Behind them, a man is carrying a plastic cup
the filter of a discarded cigarette pressed between
his chapped lips
A small child approaches him with a dollar bill
clutched between the fingers of
his delicate hands
He offers the dollar up to the man like a sacrifice
raising both hands above his head, eyes wide
The man accepts the offering – “God will save you”
The newspaper floats back down to earth
only to be blown away again by a passing car
It floats up to the sky as if summoned