another friday night
splintered & in many parts
broken
this place will never be the same
jokers pretending to be leaders
unconcerned
w/wants & needs
other than their own
market after dark
is alive & well on a friday night
city blocks partitioned off
swarms of ethnicities
circulating
innocently commingling
the far majority like innocent lambs
though a number carrying
it doesn’t have to be like this
social gatherings becoming
bloodbaths
microphones in the city square
politicians
displaying their wares
stoking fear & discontent
august two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 