empty silhouettes
the wind whips around skyscraper exteriors
blowing trash and people
as I laugh at secretary types
holding down skirts, hair
and filmy useless overwraps
I have thermal underwear on
underneath my jeans
a leather jacket and a ponytail
there’s a graffiti artist
unknown to me
who has been spray painting
empty silhouettes
(the kind police mark corpses with)
on freeway overpasses
and the sides of earthquake dilapidated buildings
with small sayings inside
like LOST ANGELES
under a bridge that was only last summer
a city-sponsored homeless encampment
the cold wind penetrates thin unnatural polyester
like a dull needle through scar tissued vein
and I feel too lucky
watching an old man at the bus station
as he paces back and forth unable to stay warm
I have thermal underwear on
gloves and a leather jacket
there is a graffiti artist
madly spray painting
empty silhouettes
with timely messages
in ugly places
for the unwanted of LA
I wait for my name to appear
Sue Lawler barely graduated from Continuation High School and has dabbled in higher education by dropping out of three different Community Colleges. Sue was a member of Poets In Distress. In her free time, Sue likes to get into road rage traffic altercations, monitor the parking situation on her street, call the cops on loud parties, look for gainful employment and alienate friends and acquaintances both new and old. This poem first appeared in Invocation LA: Urban Multicultural Poetry.
Writers At Work 