Shimmer

Shimmer

By Muriel Palanca

Rain slicked asphalt is gleaming obsidian under
Streetlamps glowing like the harsh aftertaste of whisky and
My dull ruby heels click in time to the beat of my heart, going steady
As teenage lovers do.

And I want that forever;
The sensation of miniscule pinpricks at the tips of my fingers and toes.
I remain enamored with the pages of yesterday’s newspapers crawling like
Tumbleweeds in a concrete desert as the city’s urban decay flakes

toward the sewers

And I look forward to acid rain crystallizing into painful works of
art during winter.

If I were to die tonight, I would miss this decrepit city that makes its living
From within the cracks of cyanide dreams and the potholes filled with
Too much oxygen, depriving me of a sweet release amongst the
Smog infested alleyways.

But, despite all of those macabre wonders

nothing will ever compare to the twinkle of stars

As I imagine them to be through
the overbearing shimmer of

The city skyline.