Strange Sour
Prime real estate for a tag
Was plastered massive in white letters
across a concrete column supporting
the adjoining highway on ramp.
Prime real estate for a tag
whose detailed size silently screams
a person, burdened by their own story,
once stood armed
with spray paint and time.
Traffic always clots here.
Every afternoon, I get stuck
surrounded by strangers
all dreaming of escape.
I sit still, thinking about the artist
who once stood among
highway litter and decomposition
for a time brief enough to paint
what no one can take away -
their name.
Matthew Merson is a traveling salesman in Charleston, South Carolina where he lives with his wife, two kids, and several dogs.
