“In the Valley of Our Violence” – Day 12 of National Poetry Month

In the valley of our violence
In the years of smoke and water
All the shadows trade in silence
Like a father trades a daughter

In the streets you hold your wallet
For the parasites to find you
As the crowd collects you call it
There’s too many teeth behind you

And the doors could hear you knocking
So they knocked back on your shoulder
And you felt your mind unlocking
As you stood there growing older

With the fireworks explaining
How you’ll disregard your reason
Til it’s light and sound complaining
Over shifts between the season

On the mountaintops of praying
At the penthouse private altar
It’s a sacrifice in staying
It’s a challenge not to falter

Every footstep in the hallway
Means a thousand in the market
When a dream ascends to Broadway
They know just the place to park it

It’s an empty box collection
But it advertises mystery
And assassinates inspection
By first decrying history

April 12th, 2019