With a look of poison,
twist and wound through battles of outlines too busy to know,
skipping over pavement cracks, head bowed;
weary of fleeting hollows.

Lamplight pours into dusk,
orange panorama driving people homeward bound,
Laser guided, unflinching,
ignorant of busy roads and thoughts of now! Now. Now.

Walking with sadness that’s hard to comprehend,
weighing ever-heavy over accumulated years,
the silent company of diode green lights,
the energy of accusation ringing in my ears.

Where do the stars go when the heart slows?
Beat rigid with deficiency, tired and worn,
purposefully striding to an end destination,
with a bottle waiting, and all the time ‘til dawn.