we’ll take it
“BETTER DAYS ARE ON THE WAY.”
That sign showed up overnight. Capital
letters. Handwritten neatly. Cardboard
and magic marker. Six words froze us.
The red brick exterior of Town Hall had
always been bare. Now this blemish,
in clear view. Commuters driving by
stopped to investigate. All sorts of people
wanted a closer look, from the crowned
down to the cursed. Boarded up, open,
doubters, and believers. None of us
can even figure out how it’s stuck there.
Our strongest tried and failed to rip it off.
Some were perplexed, a little irritated.
Others shrugged, chuckled, and moved on.
The sign stayed on our minds.
I can’t shake the feeling that none of us
put it up. It has to be here. We needed
a bandage, got ourselves a prophecy.
Call it a promise. Guaranteed healing.
An irreversible patch of warmth.
Light can’t be unseen.