i am a
bystander
the people
unseemly
collections
of dream

wispy
phantasms

swirling

in spectral
clouds of
ambiguous
malaise

my fingers
pass through
as the
performance
plays on

an audience
of one sitting
at the edge
of my seat

as i imagine
what happens

next

swallowing
the longing
to be a part
of the play
a bit actor
just out of
frame with a
pithy remark
bringing a
smile to the
face of the
heroine of
today’s tale

how i would
hold tightly
to that
moment just
out of the
spotlight

the same way
i clutch
dreamshards
in my fist
as the blood
runs down
my arm and
the tendons
slice until
i have nothing
but scars

a bystander

small styrofoam
cup shaking
for loose change
unchanging
except for a
new message
on the same old
sandwich board
announcing
another end
of the world

wispy
phantasms

unwilling
to make
eye contact
as they
swirl along
clouds of
disparate
little atoms

a performance
piece in three acts
for an audience
of one