streets....at night

i remember the streets
they glowed at night
like they were
full of fireflies
 
the streets full of
people like me whose
dreams were broken
each stare or glance
as harsh as week old coffee
 
i remember my life and
the lives of those around me,
some were as thin as sheets
of paper others as hard and rough
as the old drunks we would pass
 
all of us mad and restless...
collapsing at home in darkened rooms
or slumping down in doorways coated
in urine
 
i remember...
roaming these streets...
drawn to them
every car's tires like a siren's song
 
walking pass the hustlers and
whore-the high priests and priestesses
of false fulfillment  they sold masks
in every form to hide
your pain
 
i remember finally finding
an all night diner
every patron and worker
were off color...not quite right
like unfinished characters from a colorless
comic book
 
all of us looking around
wondering when our shifts would
come to an end
forgetting we lived on
streets made of illusions
that are open all night