Saltburned

I saw a girl
walking north
of Pret a Manger
today, and I
think that she was
saltburned.

Had that look in her disguise,
no tears, just some salt;
some redness
below the eyes,
like her boyfriend
had taken her
for a ride.

Or perhaps
she met his
‘rents', who
interrogated her
like some kind of
disallowed VAR goal;

that it was
a “fucking big mansion”,
but she “might not fit in”,
at least
not beyond
Spring.
Seemed like a good
“play thing”.

Now the world
was suddenly
ten times bigger,
and with a
cold snap
setting in.

It’s a sin to
kill a mockingbird.

It’s a sin.