Reddish-brown     light pierces
midnight     ginnel shadows
on graffiti adorned walls,     weathered
cedar fences &     rusty gate hinges 
that creak and groan     as gales shoot 
though knotholes      pushing frail structures
that bend like wind gusts     filling canvas sails.
remaining upright     amid stormy spasms.

Hanging around cafés     flexing feline hips 
like streetwalkers,     alley cats seek
live mice     and greasy spoon diner scraps
while garbage cans tip over     and metal lids
roll down back streets     as slick as hubcaps;
rust-colored hues     give way to grey shades
squirrels scamper     over irregular fence laths
like blind tightrope walkers under a crescent moon.
                        

Angie’s face lit night skies like 
dazzling galaxies, stars shimmering 

against a field of dark bluish-green
reflecting Taj Mahal opulence & elegant grandeur 
on her ivory face, smooth as polished marble, 
soft as a summer breeze brushing cheeks, 
that triggered blush, & accented natural beauty.

She transformed daytime doldrum images
to awesome sights of evening splendor.

As explosive as firework exhibitions 
defibrillating the Milky Way’s heartbeat
Angie’s sultry voice shed velvet echoes
down common spines that looked to her
like the eighth natural world wonder 

& monumental threshold of paradise,
conduit to spirituality, testament to love.