Dusk

Daytime traders rattle keys like jailors

pull down shutters & bring in street signs

turn out shop lights & exit into the brothel twilight

joining the throng of suits & blouses

scurrying to flee the scene of criminal intent

home to their televisions & significant others

out into the sprawl of inner city suburbanity

for a 12 to 16 hour stretch

in a prison of their own devising.



A million drones sleepwalk

through the bustle & din

of Friday sunset in the city

ties blessedly loosened at necks

taut with eight hours of strain

jackets & scarves fixed in place

to ward off the evening chill.



The pale orb in the west

retreats into the dust of the dying day

- most have not felt its warmth

on their skin all week -

& the fickle gibbous moon

casts a silver glow over event horizon.



Streetlights shimmer into nocturnal wakefulness

spread their circle of fluorescent

onto the painted lines of curbs that throb

with denizens of the daily commercial grind.



The drumbeat tattoo of stiletto heels

rubber soles, black leather

metal caps & muffled scuffs

fire counterpoint to the huff of heavy breathing

sneezing & coughing

phones add staccato rhythms

to the musical parade



the march threatens to become a riot

yet never quite breaks into mayhem

as the weary citizens trod

the goat paths & cow trails of urban wilderness

in time with the tolling of bells.



Swept up in the tide of commuters

street beggars are bowled out for golden ducks

their daily takings jingling in pockets

lined with the discarded detritus

of bin-leaning smokos.



Muttered excuses are left half-said

& less than half-meant

as the herd passes

misfortunates of modern society

left behind again like hitch-hikers

on the road to a better life.



Buskers play on regardless

just for the chance to play

a snatch of song lyrics

to a population larger than most small towns

in less than an hour

the scattered coins in their instrument cases

glint like fool's gold

destined to be exchanged for fast food

or alcohol & cigarettes.



High rise offices empty like bowels

into dimlit thoroughfares

drain into subway train stations

trams crisscross town

& buses launch into freeway suburbia

as the city disgorges its daily cargo.