flicker_and_fade raze god lets her long hair down and gives her heavy head a shake. floods my face with flakes of dry skin. a robin gathers grass to fortify her fortress of twigs and twine. a hooded man who can't hold a tune walks his british bulldog through the alley. he murders a song i wouldn't recognize in anyone's throat. i sprinkle coffee grounds between the cracks of a crumbling window frame to keep the ants away. can't tell if it's working. a boy says he's burning. his mother doesn't care. a man pops wheelies with his child's wheelchair. a mile and a half from home, a photographer barks directions at newlyweds, their dark skin damp with devotion. a bride who's just been born cradles her husband's face in her hands. he stands with his arms at his sides. all they can see is each other. i take a picture with my eyes and walk away before the image has a chance to flicker and fade. 240411 what's it to you? who go blather from