Only Silence

There ain’t no sky today,
The only light is the reflection of an illuminated city.
There ain’t much sound today,
Only the buzzing of neon lights across the roofs of the buildings,
But there’s nobody there.

There ain’t no person in sight,
Only the aroma of delicacies.
The streets still smelling of food,
The scents of noodles and chicken,
Steam rising from the dishes.

There ain’t no person here to devour their gluttonous appetite.
The city is still empty.
No more children running around,
Looking up there’s nothing there.
No sky, no clouds, no color.

It’s as if the world has stopped.
And I’m alone.
Then the power goes out.
The whole city has gone dark and asleep.
Silence draped over the city like a heavy fog

No more quiet sounds of lights.
The only sound is of the rats scurrying through the darkened roadways,
Gnawing on the remaining delicious food layered along the street, unattended by human hands.
Nobody swatting away the fiending rodents.
What happened to the city I once adored.
Can I bring it back to its former glory?

Then I catch a glimpse.
A patch of seemingly glowing green grass,
Surrounded by an array of glorious flowers.
An older man stands in the middle of the patch.
Looking out upon the darkened city.

Just when I think there ain’t no hope,
Then the sky unfurls itself.
The man begins to disappear before me.
The people commence to reappear in their former spots.
Was it all in my head?
Did the city actually turn off?
Was the silence real?