Broken Rooftops

JASON EDWARDS

April 8, 2020

and all the buildings collapsed into the stream

and cellos were played with broken sticks

and the water wasn’t safe to drink

and we were trapped in tiny spaces where we couldn’t feel the breeze upon our faces

and thunder boomed holes in the rooftops of our houses

and all you could see at night time was the light peering in from the stars

and the streets were empty 

and i looked south

and i looked north and there were no white horses

their stony shoulders moving like broken marble

and the supermarkets are filled with rabid dogs trying to snag the last of the beans and rice

and two older women get in a fist fight over their place in line and are hauled off by the police

and where has our dignity gone?

i want to wake up in a parallel universe

where we have painted our apartment shocking pink and orange

and changed out all the light bulbs to amber turquoise and purple 

and my husband and i waltzed closely in the iridescent light

a universe where people are kind to each other

where people are able to give hugs

the kind of hug that sends a lightning bolt up your spine and into the back of your neck

i want us be graceful

i want us to be earnest

and most importantly

i want us to be... free

JASON EDWARDS currently lives in Austin and has participated in the Dallas Slam Poetry scene for many years.  He is currently finishing up an autobiographical poetry novel.