V - The System is Down

When the mainframe
finally plunged burning
from the violet sky
a perfect ephemeral fist
cherry-tailed
We bowed our heads;
Some in silent thanks
Others
because they could not bear to watch.

The flames illumined
cowled brows
craggy pinioned cheekbones
the scar above my top lip
Where as a child
I fell amongst stones.

The days that followed were gaunt with scarcity
and though our stomachs felt pinched, neglected
some noticed
for the first time
the giddy warble
of birdsong
Like the tone
at the end of a dead line.