Squint scurried. From rooftop to rooftop, He skipped and he flipped as he Scrambled amongst the tiles, The blur of slate was his domain, As, through the haze of reckless speed, The slowly revolving City Did imprint upon his vision. So that as his sly lids descended Its outline he admired; Its screaming centre he desired.
In the end even Squint cannot run forever. So he will slow, and shade his eyes, Catch his breath and gaze and sigh.
And when he’s had his fill of the sights and the smog. Down he slides amongst the pipes Of better folk; of harder folk, Of those with Proper Names Like ‘Welder’ and ‘Melder’ And ‘Roland’ and ‘Fairer’. Names that came after a ‘Mr’, A ‘Lord’ or a ‘Sister’. Names that one Day he would have for his Own. For in the Glass City, Names were always changin’ hands.
Squint. Not much of a Name, Even for one so young as he It would seem he would deserve A Name of much more worth Than simple, humble ‘Squint’.
But Squint lived up to his Name. He may look young and full of fun, But crouch on a wall and you might just Be appalled to see that not a moment after Squint is left alone, his eyes will glitter. And if any Man’s flesh could ever express such malicious scheming, It was the writhing face of our humble Squint, Once his eyeballs set to gleaming.
Part 2 of an ongoing series - The Stealing of Names Follow and get ready for the next instalment, coming soon!