Poetic Form 50: Sestina

Main Street

When we sale no more lies

posted on lamp poles in the light of the sun,

maybe then we will be able to find

the strength to walk together with love

on these crowded streets.

A better future needs a truer vision.

Nothing corrupts one’s vision

more than the belief of our own lies.

Jaywalking across unmarked streets

watching our shadow move with the sun.

Our steps in a hurry, because we love

to be seen for more than we find

in our coat pockets. We never find

the right keys to unlock our true vision

of the way we want to share love

with the world. Instead we write lies

on our phones. Never noticing the sun

going down while the lights of the street

illuminate the storefronts on main street.

Crowds pass us, all face down, finding

it is easier to get lost when the sun

goes down on their dreams. Cracked visions

of past moments flicker like lies

across lips that manipulated their love.

The pain of heartbreak darkens the love

we share with the pedestrians on the street.

We wave them across with a smile, polite lies

we combine with emotional Molotov cocktails we find

stored behind our eyes. Fire and destruction is the vision

we hold in darkness, truth pierces us in the sun.

At a crosswalk, traffic lights hard to see in the sun.

We crave a seat at a cafe with the ones we love.

A better day, less traffic, a simple vision

but a more meaningful life. A map with street

names clearly marked. We would finally find

our way past the boarded up lies.

The murmur of traffic lies in the ears, away from the sun,

confusing the soul. Hard to find peace and love

in a life that shares streets with strangers without a vision.

Poetic Form #50: Sestina

The sestina form is a complicated form, so I am linking to the guidelines presented
by Writer’s Digest, “Sestina Form”.