Red Sky Cafe

From an Old Engraving It is a crowd every soul of which imagines he knows where he is going, near enough to peer over a neighbor's shoulder, close enough to smell the fires where the implements are heating; every soul presses to find a space unclaimed by any other, as if the whole scene- the wagon packed with prisoners, the canopy fluttering over the platform where the last stroke will fall, the cluster of half-sloshed soldiers guarding the perimeter- were staged for the benefit of each pampered spectator imagining himself blessed in his momentary vantage, free from harm or restraint, pushing forward toward where the crowd parts, just wide enough to enjoy the show.O'Brien, Geoffrey is the author of 'Red Sky Cafe' with ISBN 9781844710713 and ISBN 1844710718.