Flickering Flashlights

Ragged,
wandering,
wide-eyed
through the night


dripping through sidewalk cracks
stripped to the tripping point
slipping through silent side streets,
strangers to the world;
we work the seams-
telling endless stories
that begin
to lead into
tangents
lost in tangled thoughts
spun sideways
flung outwards
to the edges of understanding where
flitting flickering flashlights
find faulty spark plugs
plunged into bottomless backpacks
and turned outwards
like inner monologues
spit into the streets
to run
ragged,
wandering,
wide-eyed
through the night