run-down asymmetries tainting the benches around the steel frame
they hang by their hands, screaming, in laughter and run
around as the day they were brought to this place
they turn each other’s bags upside down, scattering the entrails on the tile floor
they tie their shoes with pride – who knows what awaits the child
that does not know how to
anything could happen
like children kicking a ball around a school gymnasium in a small town
hitting the laddered walls, the ball reflecting in awkward directions
making for an unpredictable echo
all making a run for it