A sudden snap—

A sudden snap—

a flag slaps hard against the pole.

It cuts the quiet afternoon

like a whip cracking across empty air.

Rust eats the pole, ragged edges tear,

sound sharp and brittle.

The city listens, restless,

breathing in the sudden crack.

That flag’s tongue lashes out,

calls something lost, or waiting.

Wind jerks again,

a flutter, a snap,

then silence folds back in.