smoke hung heavy
hints of red and blue
in a demon cloud of
roiling black malevolence
stinging the eyes
burning airways
as the traffic light
in muted red
swayed in the billows

i tapped my hand
rhythmically against
the steering wheel
the music thumping
just beneath
claustrophobic panic
encased in this
volatile inconsistency
trying not to breathe
blinking away tears
waiting for green
to escape this hell
of damnation’s fumes

a storm brews
lost in the low hanging
clouds convening over
a concrete stalemate
if it would open up
pour itself down
to eradicate the flames
clear the carcinogenic haze
enough to free the
panicked songbird
heaving inside my chest
cool air sweeping across
the open wound

the light changes
soon it is all behind me
just the lingering
scent of charred fear
clinging to my skin
a greasy malaise over
an otherwise
unpleasantly gray day
unable to avoid the
potholes on the road
or the blemishes
littered across my mind