The burden of a few stray words

Spat out from an alleyway

Slows the journey to a crawl

Through glass-ridden streets

~

The cold gaze of a stranger

Distorts the inner melody

As the treasured odes of family

Fall free from your grasp

~

Deceitful verses follow you

As you burrow into the night

Beyond the last sigh of slumber

To the cradle of a dream

~

It’s an invisible brand

Passed down through the years

Sinking vessel after vessel

In the flow of humankind