#20

The whole of the city is shut down
for no well-known reason,
just past 5:30, late fall darkness
lullabying the cars to sleep.

Not a single human form
on the streets of Los Angeles,
the wind taking a chance to settle
turn to concrete on the street.

The gas station glow, the humming
white and blue lettering chants
to you, and with nothing else to do,
try to figure out what it says.

When even those lights go out,
and it is silent, you glance down
at your feet--
a spider frantically climbing

over gravel,
looking for your body.