"We are more often treacherous through weakness,
than through calculation.",
was my first thought
on that cold morning in May,
when I awoke shivering,
shrouded in sheets and sweat.

It wasn't immediately apparent
when I first lost my will
to keep living
a healthy normal life.
Like most things it crept upon me,
A silent spider.
Meticulously efficient
and patient.

At first it was a simple deception
on my part.
Comforting thoughts and scapegoats,
tethered to posts,
as the wolves of winter descended.
Mangled face of the pack-leader,
torn and bleeding upon his scars.
The trophies of it's dominance.

Carefully I walked to my window,
one hand drawn
to steady myself on the sill,
as I looked outside to assess my placement and position
in this world....
I wondered how many people
on how many other worlds
were thinking the exact
same things.

-Kevin James