On the Wall

Anyone trudging down this particular stretch of sidewalk would pass a forlorn looking bench that sits beneath what was a lifeless brick wall. There was nothing special about this wall yesterday evening, just a run of the mill old wall. The red bricks chipped in places, the mortar holding strong and the lone, washed out patch of yellow paint once tossed but long since forgotten. This is the wall chosen by a man in need of a way to broadcast a message. Any way to have his word heard was an acceptable one. In a world that ran on the backs of the necks of those who kept their heads down, what better and louder method of defiance than to plaster words up high for all to see? When the sun rose on the new day, the wall had been changed - for the better or for the worse was not an issue, merely changed. In freshly dried black was written a disjointed but so clearly spoken thought. It spoke of confusion, of desperate wants and wishes for what was and could be. For what was lost and the replacement left on the doorstep. It was a call to arms and a sigh of defeat. It was all of this and something more; the most candid utterings of a soul that repressed itself for the sake of... something forgotten now.





As he walked away before the city stirred to life, ink stains on his hands and shirt, he sighed. What more could he do? This was no place to stand atop a building, toes over the edge, and sing for someone who made his heart leap. This was no place, either, for crawling beneath the bed like a frightened child praying to whatever God there was to save him from the monsters. Whispering to the sky for his mommy and daddy to pick him up off the ground and kiss his skinned knee better.

But the thing was... this man was eternally, and secretly, eternally hopeful things would get better - somehow, sometime, somewhere, it would be better than it was. He was a foolish man, he knew. A sentimental fool with ideals swimming in his head that should be bare knuckle thoughts about survival.

.... but he just knew things could be better.... somehow...."What we need is a home... somewhere to lay our heads and fall out of everything." The words said to no one hung in the air as he walked home.