Rattling Links

The kid kicked hard—

a sharp clang broke the dusk,

metal teeth biting the cold air.

Rust gnawed through green paint,

a broken barbed wire drooped,

sagging like a tired fist.

Shadows cast uneven nets

across cracked pavement,

caught between daylight and night’s first breath.

The fence rattles again—

a sound too loud to ignore,

a sudden knock on my quiet skin,

unfinished, jangling, tight.