i drove down
those backbone roads
today, the ones
leading to the doors
where freedom
is promised on the daily
but never delivered
i watched the demons
dance with sun-slant shadows
heard their whispers
wafting along the woven edges
of memories
the sounds surged
whitecapping along the
fringe of banners
waving in the chill
breath of autumn
dead,
dead leaves
dying on top of the earth
without the dignity of burial
then I turned around
and laughed
and drove home