Broken Images

Their world has
turned upside down
in this paper town;
amidst the broken images
a bridge can’t connect,
and the lighthouse can’t warn
of a lurking threat;
the massive walls can’t protect,
the rooftops look bleak
and people vainly seek
a missing messiah
an absent antidote.
The saw-toothed, jagged horizon
without sunlight or sun
can’t bring an end to their suffering.