solitary   lampost
standing in verdigris
      protest
against  pieces of night

single blue balloon
f l o a t s   across
        my vision
trailing pigtails
     and impossibly
small hands

an old soldier
     stops
gazes
   wistfully
then folds
 hands
solemnly

cars pull away
     like       memories
in my eye

tan nicotine
   forests
against grey
stone walls
where rainbow lakes
          collect

i leave
  my own
evidence
for plodding
white trucks
      to receive

they come
   in lines
of blue and yellow
        huddled
  as they wait
        for us
to leave our
  last look
at this
street