First, there was an explosion;
after that, a cloud of smoke
lifted over the site.

Afterward, two people
thought of lying
about what they had done.

It was an afternoon
on a Wednesday. Overcast, grey
and rainy now and then.

The one man looked
at the other and then
they walked off, separately.

The cooling air cleared
as throngs milled around
the cone of smoke.

Once again: there was a fire,
a burst of smoke, and two men
walking away from all of it.

In the silence after that?
Birds; rain spotty on the pavement,
sky crying over the spot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
onward,
T