things that shouldn't be beautiful

have you ever cruised down roads lit with the old dark

the dark that is only the absence of light

the dark that has never known the fluorescent

                                                           buzzzzzz

only

the bright desert of the

sun

have you ever seen a flame stack ablaze

with oily gray clouds diluting an unblemished sky

no stars, no depth, no angel eyes

have you ever seen the flames spiral like watercolors

battle-worn with agoraphobia

have you ever seen pollution so pretty

a sunset of a thousand colors

a seamless edge to the encroaching dark

orange as a botched spray tan

pink as roughed-up cheeks

red as poppy flowers

purple as swollen lips

blue as new midnight

there are things in this world that shouldn’t be pretty

horrific things, things that burn and bite and beat

that horde stolen innocence like fool’s gold

that paint masks and line them all up

in front of a computer screen

the cruelty this world around

relies much on beauty to hide its claws