walk these streets at night and know the truth

load your lipstick in a gatling gun
to get ready for the night
 
the sidewalk cracks are too wide for stilettos
and too deep for anything else
 
wear fishnets to trawl the river, sift and dredge
the filth at the bottom and the scum at the top
 
and you, panting as you run
seeking shelter on a rainy night and finding only
 
reaching hands and open legs
inviting you to places you don’t want to go
 
the city at night is no longer beautiful
or maybe it never was

Originally Published in ​Blood Into Ink