an unrehearsed universe

Street-side View

Redolent with sweat,
it blankets the streets 
with an extra pungent layer
called suffering. 
Commuter bodies
bump to a soundtrack
of unseasonable heat,
the lilt gone from even
the most delicious
tourist accents;
an existential crisis
rolls into the harbor. 

Along with it comes rain
that moistens without quenching,
drenching mini skirts
business trousers and purse dogs
alike, absorbing the acid spewed
by the millions of imprecations
to damnably distant gods.
Hundred dollar haircuts,
twelve dollar knockoff purses,
all soaked beyond recognition. 

Steaming water droplets
on contact,
the musk of egg-frying
sidewalks for once
overpowers the stench
of scented human meat. 
The fog creeps in behind
the low pressure system
setting pressures to boiling,
dishwater grey tendrils
strangling what joy remained
from weekend revels.