A Brutal Youth

i

sit
waiting for her
book in hand

a

fluid sun
out of depth shadows
match sticking
the day

then

teenage kicks
bolt on skin
the brutal sneer
of bicycle thieves

who

leave me broken
breathless
a swung life

we

are to blame
not him or her
or they
and them

excuses reign

were they black
the policeman asks
were they asian
my mother asks
were they ever children
like us
I ask