Cemented

Cemented

She walks in the dark,

long strides in the middle of Main, gum-stuck

Tongue stuck on a riddle in gray matter once crushed

Her brilliance goes unrecognized

Her resilience uncompromised
Hush ~ ~ ~ she whispers over her shoulder
She is older now
No one can see her at night, she likes it that way
under street lights staring down windows,
sees a brief detection of her reflection  
Glass eyes on bent mouth must mean something
She yells, HUSH!
Don’t rush me
I own this city
It is a pity her brilliance goes unrecognized,
her resilience uncompromised
Inspiration flies overhead painting soffits on the sky,
brushstrokes wave upward muttering at God,
HUSH!
Leap-frogging past she flutters through pages on paper racks
Free for the asking stacks them, again and again
Her pitiful counterparts - druggies and prostitutes ---
shoot backward glances,
Eyebrows dancing, chancing someone may know her she shows them her bag of tricks 
Nothing is a nightly occurrence 
She carries on / / old bags flank arms
For assurance sticks gum on cemented sidewalks
Picks it off, then talks to blank walls
Some say she’s demented
Tormented for sure
But she knows more
She knows something
She knows nothing

ldn