today, i saw

a million things that used to be.

i saw the pavement breathing hard in the mist of

rain, tears filling the dark spaces and the

cracks, where

so much water once welled up and ruined e ver y thing.

what i had to do was:

listen to the coolness,

that unseasonable pressure on the points of

my desolate cheekbones. feel

my eyelashes just brush my skin,

and in between looking i had to see,

and in between seeing i had to look.

things were just fine,

it           is                  okay.

we see the shine and sparkle of tall buildings and we are all tempted

to forget the slap of bodies against water and pavement, the hopeless way that

people curled up and died.

But if you look closely, if you turn your

head away from the sun and look out

across the crystal city, more clear than ever, if you open your eyes —

you will see that today,

the pavement is crying.