Abandoned
He’s on his own throwing stones,
a scruffbag lad on a dusty square
down a deadend street
at the end of nowhere.
He’ll target windows
until all of them are blank.
A jagged piece crashes
and smashes into flinty sparks
on a concrete floor –
a small highlight for this
early evening boy
who wants to stay out there
until darkness rises
and the heat of day drops
a grey covering
over ragwort and buddleia
that pokes from cracks
around a small building …
Door hanging open
roof collapsing
‘keep out’ sign peeling paint
by a broken down fence
and a useless gate.
‘No trespassing’ whines
in distorted red and
‘DANGER’ shouts in crooked capitals
but the boy can’t read the signs.
The last complete window
He chooses half a worn brick
hears firecrack of glass
sees the blaze shatter.
He kicks up smoke filled with dust
and heads back towards town
where orange streetlights start to glow
as the sun goes down.
