Emily Winters 

“Unregulated Air”

Hunched shoulders

To shield your neck against the bitter wind -

Prying eyes

Straining to read underneath your collar

To sneak a peek at

The words you have written there.

Invisible comrades hailing from the curtains,

But you just want to breathe

Free.

Lint-infested pockets

Playing house with spare change

And crumbling cigarettes soggy from the incoming rain.

Itching barcode

Red from the white-out and bleach

The everyday struggle to erase the

Side-effects of society.

Weight of the neon-sign

Pasted above your head

Pointing out the depression

And all the things you never wished to be

But look like anyway

From outside the barricade

That always manages to stop me

From crawling through the barbs and

Breathing unregulated air.