Light on Fire

by Adam Rothstein

Therersquo;s children in this city. Adults too. Ecoterrorists. Animals. Drug-imbibing students. Therersquo;s the police, but wersquo;re not sure where. Therersquo;s houses, and bicycles. Buses. Coffee shops. Bars, and the people inside them. Therersquo;s the handicapped, and therersquo;s the unemployed. There are the quitters, the joiners, the followers, the organizers. There are the suspicions and there are the ideas. There is the carnival, starting in a few days. There is the sun, and the clouds, and the stars. There is the fire. And there is something else. Something wersquo;re not sure about yet. Ohmdash;and therersquo;s the Angel of History. Hersquo;s retired. He lives here now. What does he do? Pretty much the same as everyone else. You can go visit him if you want. Yeah, check him out. He likes visitors, actually. Hersquo;s a little old though, if you know what I mean. Just go on up. Therersquo;s a bus that goes right there from here.

Nook

First published February 28, 2011