I waited for justice
On the corner of
Eternity and vine
She said nine but
I knew she would be late
Bitch is never on time
So I waited, blowing bubbles
Precise pockets of air encased in hope
Shining, iridescent like a new born baby's smile
The guys on the street hooted and whistled
Made rude gestures with thumbs and forefingers
Their insides melting from the glare of too much suffering
I waited, impatient for
I don't know what
For time to move and dance and sway
For a love I'd been falsely promised would come some day
For a song with lyrics that galloped down the empty asphalt
The echoing bass like horses' hooves unshod against pavement.
In Syria they are dying for sect, for land, for falafel
And no one seems to care that babies float on an empty sea
Their stomachs full of the sharks of doubt
And fear we in the West use as a shield to protect our children
At least until they walk into school,
through a metal detector beeping
with the incongruity of knowledge
and violence sharing the same hallowed halls.
I waited for Justice, smoking a cigarette
and listening to Coltrane on my iPhone
I should've known she wouldn't show.