At the Crosswalk
The cigarette butt
Smoldering
Like an uncut jewel
A mother shielding her son
From the spectacle
Of a man who stoops
The ember lighting his face
As he takes the boy’s hand
And waits for the threat to pass
*
Patrick Vala-Haynes lives within shouting distance of the Oregon Coast Range. His writing has appeared in Dulcet Literary Magazine, Sand, Split Rock Review, Sheepshead Review, Slate and elsewhere.
