Balance Act Poem by Valentine Cinnamon

On a clear night such as this
a maiden and gentleman sharing a kiss
see nothing but a brilliant future.

On a clear night such as this,
a miserable girl takes a risk
and climbs to her balcony
to meet her mortality.

Darkness reigns this midnight being,
a panicked woman running, fleeing
health waning, eyes deceiving
she sees visions of her family grieving
over her pale body.

No happiness reigns in her home
when her people gather at the tombstone
under which she lies, cold and alone
and cries cool tears of rot.

Evil, wicked, foul sin,
each unholy vice exists within this city of crime, love, and gin
there's nothing a man can't find prin his expiration.

Darkness cloaks this warm night's breeze
while a girl sits still on her knees,
watching her cat, free of disease,
play happily in the firelight.

While mothers mourn their daughter's passings,
aristocrats sit there amassing
riches, gold, and jewels surpassing
treasures kings had seen before.

Nothing stolen, nothing gained,
a world so balanced is sustained
by the misery and joy
of helpless individuals.