ruby's back pack

 
glistening arrows mapped through dark corridors  
guide the panic of tourists on a stampeding search party  
seeking    
screeching red lights  
hoisted steadily above the nearest emergency exit;  
 
only the most ruthless  
would define  
salvation at the cost of scuffed wood paneling to be a fair price;  
those more  
integrated  
with affluence  
into  
the art of hustle  
assume hysteria to be a taxing disposition to resourceful observation  
 
when the width of the threshold shines precedent, desperate bodies become casualties of self-undoing  
leaving the conductor to stand trial with confidence  
as each deposition overlooks evidence  
of false pretense- doors preemptively set ajar  
as a thoughtful accommodation  
to a strategically reckless orchestration  
 
yet outside of the shadow theater  
the local apothecary peddles fresh air  
to blind critters  
the plight of the opposum cashed out by coyotes  
   
leaving targeted rogues  
unbound  
and yes,  
these streets speakeasy  
after nightfall  
speedbumps and crosswalks found painted by silent jubilee;  
 
retracing steps of a wayward waltz  
to the eastern hemisphere  
while adversaries death march through the south  
 
towers leaning toward  
opposition  
will inevitably topple  
and scatter stacked war crimes  
across a naked horizon  
 
and as sunrise approaches frontlines  
a gavel  
lifts  
slams  
sanctions  
 
shadows may only reconcile in the west  
 
following maps drawn at dusk;  
buried behind a veil of dew  
and dust clouds  
by dawn