The streetlight
hovered over the
beaten, desolate black road, casting yellow light that fell reluctantly to the ground.
Like a balloon, three days after
valentine’s day
kept in the corner of a young boy’s room
bought but never given away
dying
and
crashing to the earth in
slow motion.
The streetlight was connected to an old, giant,
wooden pole that was falling apart a little more each day.
Filled with cracks and holes.
Praying to just be
buried, and finally allowed to rest.
The pole had one piece of
paper on it.
The paper was
decomposing.
It was stapled to the pole
forty seven times.
Jagged silver
teeth
Or crooked silver
stitches that sunk deep into wooden flesh,
begging, “Don’t move me. Please, please, don’t tear me down.”
There were two things on the paper: A picture and some writing.
The picture might have been as old as the streetlight. It was a real picture.
Plastic.
Polaroid.
“
Only touch the corners.”
The people behind this must not have owned a printer.
It depicted what might’ve been a
birthday party. There was a man, standing in front of a waist-high table, next to a heap of shining presents, cutting a large cake, wearing sunglasses on his head, and laughing.
Behind him there was green grass, spreading glorious and happy in the sun.
Next to him there was a house.
White and
complete and looking brand new.
Next to the cake there were the tiny hands of a little girl in a pink dress with a bow in her hair.
Tiny hands that were grabbing the table and pulling the little girl up onto her tip toes so she could see the cake.
See the presents.
And
she was smiling like fireworks.
Someone had circled the man with a
sharpie marker.
The bold black of the circle was the same black as the curly, cursive handwriting.
One sentence and a phone number.
“
Have you seen me?”